The flowers surrounding the Icon of the Nativity of Our Lord are offered by Lynne and Joseph Morris in memory of all their deceased family members and for continued good health for family, friends and for the entire Holy Spirit Community.

The Altar flowers are offered by George and Arelia Jacobs in memory of their deceased son Carl, and all their deceased family members and for the continued good health of their family.

Happy Birthday wishes to Laura Kanarsky (12/19). Many, Many Years!

On Saturday the 13th we commemorated the repose of our Blessed St. Herman of Alaska, Wonderworker of All America. In his simple and inspired way he gave us many, many bits of wisdom but one of the most eloquent came via this single sentence:

“From this day, from this hour, from this minute, let us strive to love God above all, and fulfill His holy will.”

from: “The Little Russian Philokalia, Volume III, St. Herman”

Be sure to have your Christmas Poinsettia offerings in before Sunday, December 21st along with you Prayer Requests and Remembrances. Also, please remember to drop off your “Special Christmas Offering” and your completed 2009 Pledge Form (offering envelope and Pledge Form provided in the Special “2009 Pledge Mailing” which you received earlier this week).

Confessions are scheduled for December 20th from 4:00-5:00 pm or after Great Vespers. Confessions are also scheduled for Wednesday, December 24th from 3:00-4:00 pm.

Thank you to everyone who helped in any way in making our Second Annual Christmas Boutique a “great success”.

As of December 12th proceeds from the Christmas Boutique are $ 7,402.00.

We would especially like to thank the Women’s Guild for their continued support of this project and for their endless hours of planning, baking and arranging for this very, very important end of year fundraiser.

Thank you to all who donated your time, labor and/or material wealth to make this important project a success! Many, Many Years!

• Watch for the 2009 Liturgical Calendar available soon.
• The Women’s Guild has purchased a new freezer and the following items are available every week. Holupki (stuffed cabbage) will be available for $2.00 each, Large Kolachy (nut, poppy and apricot rolls) for $9.00 each and Perogi $5.00 per dozen. Contact a member of the Women’s Guild for more information. Take some home and try them. You will enjoy the homemade specialty items made by our women.
• Did You Know?? You can sign up to host a Sunday breakfast or to help with cleaning the church. Let one of the ladies of the Women’s Guild know what you would like to do. We need you!!
• Senior Moments will resume after the first of the year. Attendance this fall was wonderful, from 10-22 per session. Thank you all for participating in this essential element of our community.
• The Women’s Guild meets on the first Sunday of the month following coffee hour.
• Please remember to RSVP with Lynne Morris to attend the “Salute to Vienna” musical program at Van Wezel Hall on January 1 at 8:00 pm. See the advertisement on the bulletin board for more information.

Happy Birthday wishes to Mehmet Ozkan (11-23) and Nina Butros (11-25).

The ladies of the Women’s Guild have prepared stuffed cabbage (holupki), nut, poppy seed, apricot rolls and Perogi, and they are now available anytime. Just ask anyone in the kitchen or in the Women’s Guild and they can guide you to the proper person who will fill your order from our freezer.

The Christmas Boutique will be held on Saturday, December 6th from 9 am to 1 pm. We would like new (or nearly new) arts and crafts or other gift items that could be used for the Christmas Boutique. As usual, we are hoping for a big sale with many items and many customers. Please volunteer your help and support this important effort!

The Women’s Guild Christmas Season Luncheon (gathering) will be held at Crow’s Nest Restaurant on Sunday, December 7th at 12:30 pm. Please see Rosalie Hardman for your reservations. The cost is only $10.00 – The Women’s Guild will take care of the rest.

A very big “Thank You” to all the ladies in the Women’s Guild, especially for their tireless and important efforts to enhance our community life and worship!!

The new gold altar cloths donated by Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Czekalski are being prepared by Mrs. Mary Ann Markowski and her sister Virginia. The new altar cloths will be blessed on December 21st and used for Christmas.