Say The Prayer How do we maintain our faithfulness to all aspects of discipleship? Our purpose as believers is to set the example to the world by letting our faith and our witness shine out as the beacon into a world of darkness. At Mt Carmel, it is our preference to give you space to grow, and hopefully, all will be the models for Christ that He exemplified. We have prayed for church growth for many years, and now it is growing, and we are very happy about that. We are grateful for the way our growing congregation has increased its financial support for our church mission, but we are coming up short. The bottom line is that the cost of our growth has exceeded our financial gifts, and we are asking you to consider increasing your support for the church budget to sustain our commitments. We have excellent ministries to children, youth, and our adults. We believe that God led us to hire additional staff to lead these ministries. We believe that we need to be faithful to God’s leadership, and to find a way to pay for these amazing opportunities. We believe we need to step forward and not step back. We do not concern ourselves with the private decisions of individuals to give to the ministries of the church, nor do we know what God calls you to give. However, we must concern ourselves with the task of addressing the budget shortfall so we ask you to do two things: 1. Say the Prayer of gratitude and thanksgiving to God for our blessings,

and pray for God’s leadership in deciding what you will give for the church ministries.

2. Say the prayer of discipline and give both regularly and consistently, so we can be good stewards of our resources and our financial plans for ministry.

In Christ’s Love, Will Diggs, Chair of Leadership Council

Chrismon Trip Danville, VA - Tuesday, December 16 The Chrismon ministry originated at the Ascension Lutheran Church in Danville, Virginia, and our Chrismons Committee is planning a trip for Tuesday, December 16, to view their 40 foot decorated tree and have a guide tell us their story. All MCBC members and friends are invited to sign up to join us for this day trip. We will leave from MCBC at 9:45 a.m., have lunch in Danville at 11:30 a.m., and arrive at Ascension Lutheran Church for our 1 p.m. reservation. We expect to be back about 4 p.m. Jan Russell will take your reservation, 919-942-2400.

Our Handbell Quartet will again be participating in the parade. We invite church Families to ride with us as we ring

Christmas Carols and share our Christmas Joy with the community!! We will meet on East Franklin Street at

9:30am, look for our tractor and trailer…dress warmly and join us on the trailer!!!

14 Jody Spaugh 14 Betty Stroupe 15 Chuck Livengood 15 Hannah Stone 17 Robin Churchill 18 Geary Blackwood 18 Jim Sparrow 20 Ken Taylor 21 Tina Oakley 22 Will Atwater 23 Tori Churchill 24 David Staples 25 Christopher Oakley 26 Kevin Klingel 26 Ryleigh Mae Russell 27 Charles Eakes 28 Patsy Williams 29 Janet Allen 30 Nicholas Porter 31 Roy Fagerberg 31 Katie Henry Murad 31 Jay Sparrow January Anniversaries 10 Robin & Lee Ann Churchill 12 Ray & Pam Porter 16 Jamie & Jessica Cheek 23 Bob & Elaine Jeffcoat 31 Wallace and Esta Gragg

December Birthdays 01 Nick Murad 02 Thomas Crook 03 Jim Bowen 05 Megan Daiker 06 David Daiker 06 Pattie Eberhard 06 Victoria Lattanzio 07 Emily Harrell 07 Carol Staples 09 Joree Merritt 09 Finn O’Daniel 09 Tolson O’Daniel 10 Justin Daiker 10 Wynn Thomas 11 Brittany Royster 12 Robert Rand 13 Charlotte Kilpatrick 17 Lew Ballard 17 Hunter Klingel 19 Jared Campbell 19 Marvene Hilkey 20 Karen Russell 21 Josie Eberhard 22 Tommie Blackwood 22 Brooklyn James 22 Seth Sparrow 23 Keith Henderson 25 Donnie Oakley 26 Carolyn Atkins 26 Cindi Taylor 29 Caden Smith December Anniversaries 02 John & Julia Lynch

08 Clarence & Valerie Potter 10 Ben & Debby Berry 17 James & Dorris Jennings 23 Bob & Elaine Jeffcoat 31 Wallace & Esta Gragg 27 Jamie Daiker 27 Bill & Ruth Smith 28 Donald & Anita Vaughn 29 Michael &Teresa Perdue 29 Dick & Sue Richardson January Birthdays 01 Philip Cook 01 Bill Goodrich 01 Lauren Robertson 01 Michael Sparrow 01 Nancy Mallory Vickers 02 Ruth Smith 05 Susan Mellott 08 Andrew Cutchin 08 John Eberhard 10 Betty Tomaro 11 Elward Horton 11 Whitney Crabtree 12 Ruth Sparrow 13 Brook Eberhard 13 Debbie Davis-Noell

December - January Birthdays and Anniversaries

Christmas Cantata

The Sanctuary Choir and OrchestraSunday, December 14

11:00 am

Our Shut-Ins Care packages for our shut-ins

will be distributed between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

You may bring cards for the the shut-in care packages. More

information to follow.

New Year’s Day Brunch Fellowship Hall, January 1, 2015

All are invited to enjoy a New Year’s Day Brunch.

Ham, black eye peas and collards and corn bread.

11:00am-1:00pm

Christmas Cards this Year Christmas cards will not be distributed this year by any

church group. Be sure to mail your Christmas cards early at

your local post office.

Christmas Tree The Christmas tree

and greenery are given in memory of

Paul Atkins and Bill Stone.

Larry, Kitty and Ashley Honeycutt

Notes from Katie

Hello Mt. Carmel church community! If I haven't already had the chance to meet you, I'm Katie Henry Murad. I wanted to take the time to write something to give you a little information about myself. I'm so excited about being a part of your church as the Minister of Children and Worship Arts!

I've worked in ministry for a couple of years and love being a part of a community of faith. I grew up in Huntersville, NC. I lived in the same house throughout my childhood with my parents and younger brother and sister. During my years at Appalachian State University, I spent my summers on the praise and worship team at Camp Caswell. I loved leading worship, being a part of the drama team and teaching bible study....living at the beach wasn't a bad part either. My senior year of college I joined the ministry team of FBC Blowing Rock as the worship leader for their contemporary service. I worked there for two years and loved my time in a family, mountain church.

During my time at FBCBR, I started my divinity education at Gardner-Webb University in Boiling Springs. After one year at GWU, I moved to Raleigh and transferred to Campbell University Divinity School. Shortly after moving to Raleigh, I connected with some local pastors and began working at Grace Community Church in North Raleigh. During my time at Grace I also met my husband, Nick Murad.

I finished my Master of Divinity at Campbell and later went on to pursue an internship and residency in pastoral care at UNC Hospitals. I had the gift of being the Pediatric Chaplain Intern and later the Cardiology Chaplain Resident. During my time at the hospital I gained priceless experiences and tools to approach pain, loss as well as rejoicing in good health and the newness of life. While a resident I got married to my best friend, Nick Murad, in October of 2013. We live in North Raleigh with our two dogs, Sookie and Gus.

Once again, I cannot truly express how excited I am to be a part of Mt. Carmel. I love the diversity, love, and energy of this place. I am thrilled to serve and grow in this community. I look forward to getting to know you all much better very soon! -- Katie Henry Murad

Merry Christmas! Dennis, Barrett, Katie, Doug, Lauren, Rebekah, Mikhail, Ellen and Karen