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SUNDAY AFTERNOON Vesper Concerts
Come hear beautiful Christmas music and worship with us in the Meeting House on the dates below. After each concert, join us for refreshments in the Gathering Place.
• December 4 at 2 pm:
Voices of the Valley - Be sure to join us for this uplifting event...you just might see a few familiar SSPC faces singing among the Voices!
• December 11 at 3 pm:
St. Thomas Dulcimer Society
This concert will be followed by the Advent Feast & Festival - see more information below.
• December 18 at 3 pm:
Cedar Cliff Chamber Choir
Angel Tree
There are just a few Angel Tree tags left - please take a tag and sign it out on the matching colored sheets on the table by the tree. Carefully match up your tag code to the same code on the sign-out sheets and fill in the necessary information. Gifts are due by Saturday, December 10. Thank you for caring and sharing.
NOTE: Would whomever took blue tags HARO and HACR-2 please sign those two tags out on the matching colored sign up sheet on the table beside the Angel Tree? Thank you.
Lunch Bunch - Thursday, December 1
You are welcome to join us at the El Sol Cantina on Thursday, December 1 at 11:30 am. The restaurant is in the former location of the Appalachian Brewery, 3721 Market Street, Camp Hill. Please sign up on the sheet in the Gathering Place by November 29, or contact Lynne Jackson, 717-761 0940.
Circle Rebekah - Thursday, December 8
Join us for Bible study and a time of fellowship with other women. We gather at 1:00 pm in the Chapel in person OR online via Zoom. We are using the PW/Horizons Bible Study: "Celebrating Sabbath – Accepting God’s Gift of Rest and Delight” by Carol M. Bechtel. This month's lesson, “Sabbath and Surrender”, will be led by Lydia Fehr. The key idea: The “manna” story, with its emphasis on only gathering as much as we need and not gathering on the Sabbath, is a call to trust God to provide for our needs. It is a call to surrender our unhealthy striving for more wealth, more stuff, and more success. It is a call to recognize when it is time to say, “Enough.”
If you would like to socialize beforehand, bring a bag lunch to the Parlor at 12:15 or join us for dessert at 12:40. The dessert will be provided by the hostess, Elizabeth Bentzel. All women of the church are welcome. For more information and the Zoom Link contact Emily Krebs, 717-805-5778.
Christmas Cantata Sunday: December 11, 11:00 am
*Join us for a Reception after the Cantata in the Gathering Place*
Calling all bakers! Can you show your appreciation for the Choir by baking? Donations of cookies, bars and mini muffins are needed for the Christmas Cantata Reception following the 11:00 am
Christmas Cantata on December 11. There is a sign-up sheet in the Gathering Place.
Advent Feast and Festival Ham Dinner - Sunday, December 11
The CE Committee invites our SSPC family, our SSPC Preschool family and our local community to the Advent Feast and Festival, a tradition like no other! Here are the details: CE Committee will provide the hams, and we are asking attendees to bring a side dish enough for approximately ten people. If your last name starts with the letter A to M, bring a savory dish, or a salad. If you last name starts with the letter N to Z, bring a sweet side dish, or dessert.
The Dinner is Sunday, December 11th, approximately 4:30 pm, after Vespers, in the Fellowship Hall. Drinks will be provided, along with recycled paper products to use as dishes, utensils, and napkins. We will begin with a family Advent craft, followed by dinner. We will be able to reheat food as needed. Christmas music will be provided, and we will sing carols to end the evening together. Please RSVP by signing up in the Gathering Place or emailing the CE Committee at [email protected]. You can also sign up through Realm - click here. The cutoff date for reservations is Monday, December 5th. There is no cost, but donations will be appreciated!
Blue Christmas Service - Thursday, December 15, 7 pm in the Meeting House
While many of us are looking forward to Christmas with great anticipation, for some of us the holidays are a time of intensified grief. This service is for anyone who seeks hope and comfort amidst the hustle and bustle of the holidays.
Live Nativity - Thursday, December 22, 6:30 - 8:30 pm
Enjoy a live nativity, singing of Christmas carols, refreshments and a petting zoo!
Christmas Eve Services
5:30 pm: Children and Families Service with Christmas Pageant
7:00 pm: Traditional Candlelight Service
Christmas Morning Breakfast
The Christian Education Committee is bringing back another long SSPC tradition. Join us in the Fellowship Hall (gym), at 9:30 am on Christmas morning before the 11 am service. CE will be serving scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, home fries, toast and pancakes, along with juice, coffee, tea and hot chocolate. There will be no cost, but donations appreciated! Please RSVP by December 18th; look for a sign-up sheet in the Gathering Place.
Poinsettia Dedications
The Christmas poinsettia order forms are available in the Gathering Place or by clicking here. Please return the form to the box in the Gathering Place by Monday, December 12. The names of dedication will be listed in the bulletin on Sunday, December 18. The cost of each poinsettia is $10.
Alternative Ways to Support SSPC in 2022
Making a qualified charitable distribution (QCD) from your required minimum distribution (RMD) from your qualified retirement account in the remaining weeks of 2022 is an excellent and impactful way to support the ministry and mission of Silver Spring Presbyterian Church and to minimize your Federal Income Tax obligation. It is truly a win-win situation.
If you are age 72 or older, the Federal Government requires that you take annual distributions (withdrawals) from your qualified 401(k) or individual retirement account (IRA). These withdrawals, which are referred to as the RMD, may be distributed directly from your IRA's to Silver Spring Presbyterian Church in the form of a QCD. A QCD reduces your annual RMD. In other words, using your RMD for charitable giving via a QCD to Silver Spring Presbyterian Church directly reduces your taxable income and helps support our programs.
You don't have to wait to age 72 to make a tax-free QCD from your 401(k) or IRA. The SECURE Act of 2019 extended the age for making RMDs to 72 but left the age for making QCDs at 70 ½ and you may distribute up to $100,000 annually tax-free to your favorite charity. QCDs are a great way to reduce your income and estate taxes.
Please consult the administrator of your retirement plan, along with your tax or financial advisor, to determine the best alternative for making your QCD to Silver Spring Presbyterian Church in 2022 and, perhaps, annually. It is generally a simple and easy process. Please feel free to contact Bill Vipperman, 717-991-5825 or Bill Resser, 717-580-7667 with any questions you may have.
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