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Ever wonder what leaping lords, French hens & a
partridge in a pear tree have to do with Christmas?
From 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England
were not allowed to practice their faith openly. To
help children remember their catechism, someone during
that era wrote a carol with "code words."
 | The partridge in a
pear tree was Jesus Christ |
| Two turtle doves
were the Old & New Testaments |
| Three French hens
stood for faith, hope and love |
| Four calling birds
were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke & John
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| Five golden rings
recalled the Torah or Law, the first 5 books of the
Old Testament |
| Six geese a-laying
stood for the six days of creation
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| Seven swans
a-swimming represented the sevenfold gifts of the
Holy Spirit: Prophesy, Serving, Teaching,
Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership & Mercy
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| Eight maids
a-milking were the eight beatitudes
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| Nine ladies
dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit:
Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness,
Faithfulness, Gentleness & Self Control
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| Ten lords
a-leaping were the Ten Commandments
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| Eleven pipers
piping stood for the eleven faithful disciples
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| Twelve drummers
drumming symbolized the 12 points of belief in the
Apostle's Creed |
(This came from an
un-verified source, but it's a wonderful story.)
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Don't Forget
these Christmas ministry deadlines:
Christmas Baskets ~ December 16th
Angel Tree ~
December 23rd
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Merry Christmas!
and may you and your family have a blessed
season as we all focus on the true meaning of Christmas
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December is always a busy month as we anticipate
Christmas, celebrating the birth of our Lord Jesus
and visiting with family and friends. With all the
activities listed below, we're sure you'll find ways
to make your holidays more meaningful. |
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Music Ministry News
YOUTH CHOIR
| The Youth Choir will present
their Christmas music at the
Sunday evening service, December 9th. The
selections will include both traditional and
contemporary favorites. Please come and be a
part of this special worship service.
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| The annual Youth
Choir Christmas Caroling party and Progressive
Supper will be held Saturday evening,
December 15th. If you would like the choir to
stop by your house or neighborhood for a few
minutes of caroling, please let Nevin or Gigi
know as soon as possible. They will mainly
visit the Forest Park, Lynn Haven and Kings
Point areas of town between 5:30 and 8:30 pm
that evening--so if you're in those areas, we'd
love to drop by.
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| The Youth Choir thanks all of
you who participated in our November Garage Sale
and the Dinner & Movie night on November 17th.
The students appreciate the support of the
congregation--especially those of you who don't
have children in the choir but make a choice to
support the Youth in their endeavors. |
CALLING ALL ADULT CHOIR SINGERS OR POTENTIAL
SINGERS!
The Adult Choir is longing for a few additional
voices for the Christmas music they are
presenting on Sunday morning, December 16th. We
will be rehearsing on December 2nd and December
9th at 4:15 p.m.--please come!!
KING'S BRASS COMING THURSDAY, JANUARY 10th
We are excited about another
opportunity this year to host
Tim Zimmerman and the King's Brass.
They'll be performing in the Covenant
Sanctuary this year at 7:00 p.m., and
tickets will be sold to this event. We
expect a complete sellout, so please
purchase your tickets early to assure a
seat. The concert is sponsored by the Youth
Choir, and the choir will treat you to a
free soup supper before the concert (from
5:45-6:45 pm) as part of your ticket
price. Learn more about this group at
www.kingsbrass.org
MORE
SINGERS NEEDED FOR THE PRAISE TEAM
We are in need of additional singers for
the Sunday night praise teams. This is
a great way to serve the Lord and our
congregation as we learn, teach and
sing contemporary Christian music as
well as great hymns of the faith in a
new setting. For more information
contact Tyler Bingham ( tylerbing2301@hotmail.com),
Leigh Hinkle ( hinklerldj@knology.net)
or Art Stroh ( artstroh@yahoo.com).
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WIC NEWS
All ladies are invited to the annual WIC
Christmas Brunch on Saturday, December
15, 2007 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:00 noon. Our
hostess again this year is Nancy VanBibber in
her home at 3713 Mariner Drive, Panama City
Beach.
Advent Soup Suppers
The annual soup suppers
following the evening service will begin
Sunday, December 2nd. Since there will be
no evening service on December 23rd, there
will only be 3 suppers this year--December
2nd, 9th & 16th. The ladies in the church
are providing this great way to spend time
with our church family during the busy
holiday season--make plans now to attend!
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AUDIO/VIDEO NEEDS
The Audio / Video ("AV") Team is seeking volunteers
to help facilitate the worship services at
Covenant. The AV Team is responsible for running
the microphones and instruments, broadcasting the
live service through Covenant's Radio Ministry,
projecting song lyrics, announcements, readings, and
scripture on the overhead, extending the worship
service to the fellowship hall and nursing
room, controlling the lights, and recording the
service for distribution to those who request a
copy. The schedule is prepared a quarter at a time
so January - March's schedule will be made in
December.
Our goal is to distribute the responsibility so each
person only needs to work the AV booth once or
sometimes twice a month. We need your help to meet
this goal and ensure we can continue to enrich
corporate worship at Covenant, for God's glory,
through this ministry. Training is done on the job
and folks with no prior experience have joined the
team and learned the systems. Please prayerfully
consider if this is a ministry where you could serve
at Covenant. If you have questions or would like
some more information - please contact Jeff Delmar
or Jonathan Hayes.
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COVENANT FAMILY NEWS
ELDER OF THE MONTH
Our Elder of the month is Warren Kline.
Warren and his wife Judy have been at Covenant
for many years. Warren is retired from the
state of Florida where he worked for the
Department of Children & Families.
At Warren's request, the
Session voted at the October 24, 2007 meeting to
change the status of Ruling Elder to that of
"Elder Emeritus" - the change was effective
immediately. Warren was elected on June 22,
1980 and was installed during the morning
worship service as the Session convened with the
following members attending: The Rev. Ray
Lanning, moderator, Ruling Elders John Callaway,
H. B. Hayes, Truett Lucas, Richard Post, Rod
Webb and Elder Emeritus Neil K. McKinnon.
Pastor Lanning's sermon was "Put
The Elder in His
Place" with the sermon text from 1 Peter
4:12-5:11.
During his faithful years of service at Covenant
Warren served as the Chairman of the Covenant
Christian School Committee when Covenant
Christian School began operation as a pre-school
in August 1982, and served in that capacity for
23 years. He currently serves as part-time
Assistant Headmaster. Covenant will surely
continue to get a lot of miles and service in
the years to come from Warren and his family.
We appreciate his faithful service in the past,
present and future. God Bless you Warren and
Judy!
CYLLE
ROWELL NAMED TEACHER OF THE YEAR!
Our own Cylle Rowell
was honored recently by being named
"Teacher of the Year" at Mosely
High School. Cylle is a 9th grade math
teacher at Mosely. Congratulations, Cylle!!
JULIE ZIMMERMAN CROWNED HOMECOMING QUEEN FOR
UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA!
Julie Zimmerman was crowned
Homecoming Queen at the University of
Central Florida in Orlando at their
Homecoming game on November 3rd (pictured at
right with sister Jenna). UCF is 13 miles
East of Orlando and has a student population
of almost 49,000, making it the 6th largest
public university in the United States.
Julie is a 2004 graduate of Mosley High
School and a 2007 graduate of UCF; she is
currently working on her Masters degree in
Mass Communication at UCF with an expected
graduation date of May 2008.
Congratulations, Julie!!
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