WHATS UP @ KNOX ?

(Couldnt decide which clipart to usecrazy weather!) THANKS to everyone for their contributions to the newsletter.

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013
Knox Presbyterian Church
142 Ontario Street, Stratford, ON N5A 3H2

519-271-0373 knoxs@wightman.ca www.knoxstratford.ca

I am pleased to announce that Kathy Baker has accepted the position of Administrative Assistant at Knox. Kathy will be joining us on February 1st. She will be working Tuesday through Friday from 9 am 12 noon. Kathy has been employed with the Avon Maitland District School Board for many years in the capacity as Administrative Assistant. Kathys expertise and past experiences will be instrumental in strengthening Knox Church. Please join me in welcoming Kathy to this position and give her your support as she makes the transition into her new responsibilities. Tim Pauli On Sunday, February 10th following the service, please plan on joining Sue Orr, Dr. Geza Wordofa and Ellen Sparling as they speak on their recent trip to Ethiopia. Their trip was a fact finding mission on the costs of the wells, and they have had many adventures that were thrown in along the way! There will be a soup and hotdog luncheon by donation in support of the project. If you are unable to make it after Church, there will be a public event at a later time.

Ethiopian Well Project

The Annual Meeting will be Sunday, February 24th

following a potluck lunch. Plan on attending! Submissions for the Annual report are due very soon! If you want an Annual Report you must sign up ahead of time in order to have one printed for you. Please contact the Office.
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EASTER SERVICES AT KNOX

Maundy Thursday, March 28 at 7 PM. We share in communion as we remember Jesus last supper with his disciples. The service will be about half an hour. Good Friday, March 29 at 11 AM. We join together to remember the death of Jesus, the Christ. Easter Sunday, March 31 at 11 AM. We celebrate the resurrection of our Saviour. We will be encouraged by the musical leadership of the Choir and Praise Explosion.
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OUTREACH TEAM NEWS

COMMUNITY MEAL Knox hosted another successful Community Meal on January 11th. Thanks to everyone who made donations and volunteered. We will be serving our next meal in April. CHANGE HER WORLD Carol and Linda will be travelling to Africa in April 2013. They want to take with them as many toothbrushes, toothpaste and small play equipment as they can. We will be placing a bin in the Narthex where you can contribute any of the following: Tooth brushes Toothpaste Small light weight balls (Tennis balls, rubber balls, etc.) Skipping ropes Flattened soccer balls or footballs Any outdoor toy that is lightweight and easy to transport.

CANADIAN TIRE MONEY We continue to collect Canadian Tire money. We can use this to buy items for Change Her World. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

A GAMES NIGHT was held on FRIDAY JANUARY 25 A fun time was had by all and helped to conquer the winter Blahs. Watch for another date to join in this fun again!

IRISH STEW DINNERWatch for this in March!

Appointments are being booked for Feb 25th and 26th. All families and/or individuals participating will receive a directory and an 8x10 colour photo free. There will be a charge for additional copies or sizes if ordered. Contact Dale Bast 519271-8829 or Margaret Lupton 519-475-4443 with any questions. Bookings can be done through the office starting Feb 1st. There will be another opportunity in May for those families with students away.

A Group for Friendship and Learning For the month of February, we will meet on Thursdays at 10 AM to wrestle with questions that connect faith to our daily lives. We gather for about an hour together in the parlour. We watch a short film featuring Rob Bell, and then discuss the topic raised using scripture and our personal experience. Rob Bell is a Christian who is both a writer and a gifted speaker. Rob Bell was a founding pastor of Mars Hill Bible Church in Grandville, Michigan from 1999 to 2011. Here are the questions for the next four Thursdays: February 7: Do our lives even matter? One of the intriguing things about humans is that we are able to recognize beauty in our world and in one another. Why is that? Why do we hunger for beauty? February 14: Does prayer really help? February 21: Why are we so afraid of silence? February 28: Is anger the issue, or is the real problem what you get angry about? Our minister, Mark Gedcke, facilitates the group.

11th ANNUAL Body and Soul Spa Night Friday, April 26th, 2013. Planning will begin VERY soon. ****This team is in need of some help with the decorating, contacting spa providers, extra cleaning, silent auction, and more! This is a wonderful and FUN fundraiser supporting the Cancer Care Mission Wigs and Accessories room at Knox.

A Morning in their Shoes A Focus on Youth. Saturday, March 23rd, 9:30 am-Noon. Location - Knox Stratford. Join us for a time of learning, sharing and experiencing life through the eyes of atrisk youth in our community. Registration and refreshments 9 -9:30am. Mike Masse, a social worker from Choices for change will share about his experience and work with at-risk youth in Huron Perth. Lunch to follow the speakers-provided by members of the Mission and Stewardship Committee. To register call Andrew Thompson at 226-978-3741 or email atwoodpc@gmail.com

KINTAIL ON THE ROAD Vacation Bible School

Hosted by Knox Stratford on July 8th to 12th Mark this date on your calendar register your children or grandchildren, invite their friends to come with them. Camp Kintail staff leads the sessions and bring all the materials needed. We help out by providing snacks or being a volunteer for a half or whole day! It will certainly be a fun-filled time for all!
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Mark this date on your calendar June 21st to 23rd Its the Annual Church Retreat to Camp Kintail! Join us for ALL or part of the weekend! *****************************************************

Open Thursday, Friday and Saturday 10 am 3 pm Come out and volunteer with this Knox Mission! The Alley Thrift Store Mission has had another successful year as the result of the hard work of all our volunteers. Our total sales for 2012 were approximately $45,000.00. In December we transferred $14,500.00 to the church. Our mission donations for the second half of the year were as follows: Presbyterian Sharing $1000.00 House of Blessing $ 1000.00 Kiwanis -CJCS Basket Fund $ 500.00 Salvation Army $500.00 Sue Orr trip to Ethiopia $ 500.00 We also supported Megan Speiran and Jessica Barton with donations of $500.00 each for their mission trips. We look forward to having these young ladies share their experiences with us later in the year. We have purchased 9 more bed kits for Sleeping Children Around the World with the money donated to our penny can in the store. Since opening three years ago The Alley has purchased 53 bed kits. The Alley has a big project that we need to do in order to keep our store operating as a clean and inviting place. We need to replace the rug in the store with something that is more serviceable for the large amount of traffic that we have. We have been advised that it would be best to do this in the spring after the winter slush is gone. We are currently working on getting quotes and ideas as to what kind of flooring would best meet our needs. When we are ready to begin the project we will need a lot of help to get ready for the installation. Your continued support of The Alley through your donations is appreciated. 5

Happy Birthday!
Graham Ewart January 15th January 15th January 16th January 18th January 19th January 19th January 20th

JANUARY
Richard Bast January 1st Catherine Drake January 2nd Mark Barton Sierra Savelle Richard Gedcke Maggie Harris Dale Bast Anna Kasler January 3rd January 3rd January 3rd January 5th January 6th January 6th

Carolyn Stock Neil Appleby Scott Savelle Bev Peart Jean Phillips Beth Barton

Margaret Carrothers January 21st Muriel Ballantyne January 22nd Kaitlyn Lawry Chantale Pitts Rose James Rena Tuer Ethan Adair Iva Brown Diane Parker Aaron Kropf Andrew Dougall Mary Rothwell January 22nd January 22nd January 22nd January 25th January 26th January 26th January 28th January 29th January 30th January 31st

Abraham Bender January 8th Charles Bender Rachel Drake Betty Drake January 8th January 8th January 10th

Natasha McCormick January 10th Glenna Bullock January 10th

Happy Birthday!
FEBRUARY
Tom Orr Adam Gibb February 1st February 2nd Lyle Shiell Kirsten Anwender Gerald Feeney Jane Ballantyne Anne Rothwell Norman Vail Margaret McIntyre George Raycraft Evelyn Hyde Betty Thompson Doris Card Elmer Dredge Deborah Buchanan February 17th February 19th February 19th February 20th February 20th February 20th February 20th February 22nd February 24th February 25th February 26th February 26th February 28th

Suzanne Strahan February 2nd Andrea Bedford February 6th

Bruce MacAlpine February 6th Simon West Susan Laws Andrew Wilhelm Alex Hislop Ben Rothwell Robert Ballagh Randy Fink Sierra Pitts February 8th February 9th February 12th February 13th February 13th February 14th February 14th February 17th

Celebrating Anniversaries
Lisa Barton and Brock Appel January 4th Bill and Audrey Forbes January 12th

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Cathy Bachner, Mike, Nicholas and Michael, and their extended Rothwell and Bachner families, thank the Knox Stratford family for their prayers, good wishes, hugs, gifts and acts of kindness shown during Cathys recent health crisis. Thank you also to Rev. Mark for his visits and constant support. We are blessed to be a part of such a wonderful and caring church family! Cathys road to full recovery will be a long one, but she will make the journey one step at a time. Cards of support can be sent to our home address: 12 Margaret Court, P.O. Box 1031, St. Marys, ON, N4X1B7. Thank you again for your love and support during the past month, and please keep it coming as Cathy continues her recovery!

Scott Savelle will be radiation free for 2 months on February 6. Scott has gained back 9 pounds from losing over 45 pounds. His throat on the inside is very, very, very swollen so is only able to take in a lot of liquids - water, tea, broth, cup of soups and very thin milkshakes. Ice cream is his favourite! His voice is a whisper right now because of being so swollen. In two to three months we will have a CAT scan to see if the treatments were successful. He still has a long road to recovery. Karen, Scott, Sierra and Tori would like to thank the Knox family for their prayers, well wishes, hugs, rides to London and gift certificates. Thank you also to Rev. Mark along with Lois Wells for their visit and his constant support and prayers. Cards of support can be sent to their home address at 7 Maple Avenue, Stratford, Ontario. N5A 7C3.

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The 1st and 12th Stratford Girl Guides located at Knox Presbyterian Church have been very busy this past fall. Our enrolment has increased from last year. 1st Stratford Guides have 20 girls and the 12th Stratford Guides have 16 girls. We started our Guiding year at Camp Wyoka. We rented a bus to take 19 girls and 3 leaders to one of our Provincial camps near Clifford Ontario. We managed to put up tents in the darkness and between rain showers. The girls worked on badges and fun activities for the weekend. Not one girl complained about the rain or cold weather all weekend. Great weekend! November 12, the guide units hosted an event with the Pathfinders. In the morning, we had First Aid training and Emergency Preparedness. Mayor Dan provided pizza for lunch and spoke with the girls about some of our Stratford History. Police Chief Bates spoke with the girls and provided our new canine dog and trainer for the girls to meet. Huge hit. Fire Chief Young concluded our event. The girls were able to earn 4 badges at this event. Both Guide units participated in the Basketeer Program and were able to fill 5 baskets. Very good job by girls and some were able to deliver the basket to the center to be distributed to women and their children in need. Both units also provided tray favours at Thanksgiving for Meals on Wheels. They also provided favours for Christmas. Our Christmas gathering on December 11 brought all levels of Guiding together. There were about 90 kids plus adults at this event. The girls played games and make a Gingerbread Craft. They also brought items for the local Food Banks. 2013 will continue to be a very busy year. ARTS is going to be our program. We will be starting our year off making No Sew hats for the Street Youth. We will be finishing off our Provincial Heritage and Canada Heritage. In February we will start our Art Production Badge. The girls will be solving a CSI Art Fraud Challenge. The environment is also in the plan.

Please mark February 12th on your calendar for Shrove Tuesday. The Guides will be cooking between 5 and 7 pm.
We will conclude our Guiding year in May with a campout to African Lion Safari. The girls are working hard towards this event. They are all very excited and we are planning to take every girl that is able to go that weekend. As you can see the girls are in a community giving and learning process and it is only through the support of the Church and volunteers, that this can be done. Submitted by the 1st and 12th Stratford Girl Guides
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