Oakton Church of the Brethren’s three day Christmas Craft Show is a great opportunity to share some Brethren hospitality with our neighbors, while raising funds for church projects. We sell a variety of crafts (plus craft supplies!) at the consignment boutique-style show and also have a soup and sandwich lunch and bake sale.
Show hours are Thursday and Friday, Nov. 19 and 20, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Saturday, Nov. 21, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. — all downstairs in our church.
Here’s how you can help!
Volunteer: We need helpers throughout the show and starting on Wednesday, our set up day. There’s a lot to do such as prepping apples for pies, tagging, arranging displays, bagging purchases, and serving guests in the lunch room. Contact Pat Reed, our show organizer, to pre-arrange or, if you can’t do that, just drop in! Even if you are just available for an hour, we’d love your help.
Bring treats for the bake sale: We welcome your home-baked goods throughout the show. So we’ll have plenty at the start, we’re eager to receive some on Thursday or on set up day (Wednesday).
Donate food for the soup and sandwich lunch: Please check a signup sheet in the Narthex for many food and drink items to donate.
Donate or consign crafts and craft supplies: If you would like to participate as a crafter, there may still be room for your wares. There’s a $20 sign up fee and the church gets 10% of sales. Contact Pat Reed or the church office. Also, we accept donations of craft supplies and handmade items from the congregation and these are tagged “Oakton COB” and 100% of the price goes to the church.
Come to the show, shop and eat!
Spread the word: Fliers you can post at community venues are available in the Narthex or contact the church office. You can also refer your friends and neighbors to the church website, www.oaktonbrethren.org, for craft show details. Thank you!
It’s Bluegrass Night on Saturday, Nov. 7 at 7:00 pm! A collection of local musicians, featuring Thoroughfare Gap, entertain with bluegrass covers of the Eagles, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Patsy Cline, Dion, Michael Martin Murphey, Hank Williams, the Carter Family and Adele.
The performance is part of the Oakton Church of the Brethren Community Concert Series. There is no admission charge. A freewill offering will support the Brethren Nutrition Program, a soup kitchen on Capitol Hill providing wholesome lunches to those in need.
The church is located at 10025 Courthouse Rd., Vienna, Va., where Courthouse Rd. intersects Rt. 123 near Oakton. If you’d like more information, contact the church at 703-281-4411 or .
Crafter signups are now under way for Oakton Church of the Brethren’s annual Christmas Craft Show. The three-day show is consignment-shop style, staffed by church volunteers, freeing crafters to do another show that same weekend.
Show hours will be from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 19 and Friday, Nov. 20, and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 21. A $20 crafter sign-up fee and 10 percent of crafter sales go toward church projects.
Our show is a local holiday tradition now in its 22nd year! We actively publicize the event and our prominent location at 10025 Courthouse Rd., Vienna, where Courthouse Rd. intersects Rt. 123 near Oakton, helps us draw a crowd. Again this year the show will feature both crafts and craft supplies, as well as sales of baked goods and lunchtime soup and sandwiches.
Interested crafters should contact the church at 703-281-4411 or for more details.
At first glance, Children’s Church may appear to be just another child care time provided so that parents and members can worship while our wiggling wee folks have a place to talk and play. While this may also be true, there’s more to Children’s Church than that! It’s a time to share offering. It’s a time to sing “hymns” of the kid variety. It’s a time to learn to pray. It’s a time for kids to express their love for God and others through crafts, games, drawing, and creating.
Each Sunday children aged 4 through fifth grade begin their worship experience with their families in the sanctuary. Early during the service, they are invited to the front of the church to share in a story and discussion by an adult volunteer. After that, these young members head downstairs to the Children’s Church room to sing some songs, and hear another brief story or discussion. We pray together in order to help each child learn how to talk to God. It’s not long before the children are active in a craft, game, or other activity that helps them to express their ideas, reinforce the lesson of the day, and worship God in a kid’s style!
The lessons and activities of the day are planned by Oakton’s Christian Ministries Coordinator (CMC), Debbie Seidel, and adults volunteer to lead and adults or teens assist on Sundays. You don’t have to be a parent of a child in Children’s Church to volunteer! We bet you’ll find the joy of the kids a wondrous thing, and you’ll find yourself coming back for more. See Debbie Seidel or Karen Richardson to volunteer!
Some parents and children choose to remain in worship with the adults each week. However, we don’t forget about them… we have the Worship Activity Totes (WAT) to help them find meaningful quiet activities to work on in worship that are also tied to the Sunday’s themes. Feel free to peak at one sometime, just to see what’s inside! We often have extras and would love for you to take one to a neighbor, friend, grandchild, niece or nephew.
We are bringing back another favorite children’s program this year, The 100% Club. This is a program designed to engage all our kids in activities to engage themselves in God’s ministry with 100% of their mind, heart, body, and spirit to God’s glory. The children will chose from a list of activities and timely offered activities that they can do to earn a percentage amount toward their goal of 100%. Each time they reach their goal of 100%, they may choose from a list of celebration activities offered by members and friends of the congregation. Do you have a hobby, skill or just enjoy spending time with children? Sign up to offer a celebration with a child of the church. Some ideas include an ice cream outing, a movie with a friend, teaching them woodworking, knitting or another fun skill. Speak to Debbie Seidel or Hannah Seidel for more information.
We are blessed with an active and growing children’s ministry. You can bet when our children are around, there are more good things going on than meets the eye!
I. You shall not compare the old Pastor and the new Pastor, for the Lord your God has made each person unique and wishes you to appreciate each original creation.
II. You shall not expect everything to stay the same when the new Pastor arrives. Nor shall you resist change, nor assume that change is bad, but you shall trust that the Lord your God isn’t finished with your church yet and is bringing change for your good and the good of your mission.
III. You shall not make graven images of your old grudges, nor shall you keep stale disappointments in the temple of your heart, but you shall forgive and move on in the grace of the Lord your God, for how can you ask God for mercy unless you give mercy from your heart?
IV. You shall not commit gossip, nor shall you fearfully complain, nor shall you listen to those who do, but instead you shalt entreat them to adjust their attitudes and lighten up, for everything shall be alright, and in fact, shall turn out very well indeed – better than you can even imagine.
V. You shall not commit nostalgia or say that the old days were better, for in so doing you shall make your judgment come true. Be assured that the Lord your God is not falling asleep at the wheel, but will be with you and surprise you with abundant blessings, more than you can contain or count.
VI. You shall not factionalize nor create “us-them” divisions, but you shall unify with your brothers and sisters even when they annoy or confuse you.
VII. You shall not come to the new pastor with your demands, pressure, complaints, bad reports, manipulations, threats, agendas, unsolicited advice, or snide comments. But you shall say, “Welcome! How can we help you? We love you! We would like to increase our giving significantly. We’re praying for you and your family. Welcome to our community! We baked you some cookies!” And each week, you shall do so again and again until the new pastor begs you to stop.
VIII. You shall increase your giving, and not withhold your tithe, but invest thy money and your heart in the future of the community of faith and mission.
IX. You shall not come to your old and former pastor with anything but praise for the new pastor, but you may bring your concerns to God in humble prayer, and if you must, you may also share concerns with the duly appointed leaders of the church.
X. Most important, trust God, and stay connected to God, and draw strength from God, staying deeply rooted in the message of God’s grace. For God is good, and God will never leave you nor forsake you. You can count on that for sure!
