Parramatters - 25th November 2022

Hi Parramatta Salvos, 

This Sunday is the first week of Advent and the beginning of our new sermon series 'Home for Christmas'. Over the next four weeks (yes there's only four Sundays until Christmas Day!), we invite you to join us at 9:30am or 11am as we prepare our hearts for the coming of the promised Messiah. 

This year on Christmas Day, we will be holding one service at 9:30am, and we invite you to join us with your friends and family on Christmas morning. 

We can't wait to see you!

Kylie & Sarah
(Corps Officer Team)

Ladies Fellowship
Ladies Fellowship meets each week at 10am for morning tea and 10:30am for fellowship. This week at fellowship we will hear from Michelle Gough who share on the topic, 'Keep creating for Christmas'. 

Youth & Young Adults!
This Friday all youth and young adults are invited to come along and decorate the hall for Christmas! Join us from 7pm for some Christmas-elfing and some food! Can't wait to see everyone there!

Flourish
All women and children (under 18) are welcome join our Gingerbread House Decorating Party. 
Saturday 3 December from 3pm-5pm at Parramatta Salvos. 

Thanks to everyone who has registered already!
We have a small number of houses still available, so please see Jayne or Kylie this Sunday if you want to come along!

Cost:
$40 for afternoon tea and a gingerbread house kit (20cm high x 15cm deep)
$10 afternoon tea only

Christmas Collecting
We will be collecting at Carlingford Court from this coming Monday 28/11 to Saturday 3/12 from 10am-4pm. Please let us know if you can help by collecting during one of the time slots listed below. 

Gift Card Offering
Each year, we help hundreds people through our Christmas Cheer project. We get plenty of toys and food donated from the community, but the age group we always struggle with are teenagers. For the past few years, we have contributed over $4000 worth of gift cards from our church community and we would love to do this again in 2022. We will be taking up a gift card offering at our Christmas Carols event on Sunday 11 December at 6pm. We ask that you contribute gift cards of between $30-$50 that are appropriate for teenagers. Some examples include the Ultimate Kids or Teen Gift Cards, JB HiFi, Cotton On, EB Games or Rebel Sport. Please come prepared to give on Sunday 11 December, or drop your donations to the corps office any time. 

Corps Retreat 2023 - Save the Date!
We very excited to announce that next year, we will be holding a Corps Retreat at The Tops Conference Centre from 30 June-2 July. This retreat is for all ages, with the opportunity to stay for the weekend, or join as a 'day delegate'. Costs, special guests and details to come - we invite you to mark your calendars and plan to be there!

Christmas Concert 
Our Christmas Concert is coming up on Sunday 11 December at 6pm. This concert will involve Timbrels, Mini God Squad, Ensemble, Band and our Christmas Choir! Make sure you plan to be there and invite your friends and family to come along. Flyers are available int he foyer - please take as many as you would like!

Staff Changes
We wish to advise you that there are some staffing changes happening at Parramatta in the New Year.

Firstly, our Connect Site Co-ordinator, Selome Gebremariam, will be finishing with us on Friday 23^rd December. Selome commenced at Parramatta in May 2018, and we are grateful for all she has done to assist hundreds of people in that time. More will be said closer to the time but we wish Selome all the best with her future endeavours.

As a result of this we will be employing a full time 'Concierge' who will work from the front desk. This will enable the centre to be open Monday to Friday for longer hours.

Again, more will be said about the details of this in coming weeks, but this position has now been advertised. If you know of anyone who may be interested, please direct them to apply using the following link:
https://salvationarmy.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/Salvos/job/Parramatta-NSW-Australia/Concierge_R27362-1

Christmas Choir
This Thursday was our very first Christmas Choir rehearsal! We had over 30 people join, and can't wait to hear them at our Christmas Concert. If you missed out this week, why not join us for the next 2 rehearsals on Thursday 1 December and Wednesday 7 December? Please see Michelle Kay-Browning for music this Sunday so that you can look over the pieces!

Thank you
We would like to thank all those who assisted with collecting at Winston Hills last week. This was hugely successful and in the seven days we raised $3652.35 This money goes towards further helping our community at Christmas Time!

Jayne Combremont
As many are aware, Jayne finishes her studies at Hillsong College in the coming weeks and will soon graduate with a degree! Jayne's visa as a student will expire in March 2023, and Jayne will be returning home to Switzerland before moving to London to study a Masters. We weren't sure if this should be included in the 'stories worth celebrating' section of the newsletter, because we are sad to see Jayne go. However, we are grateful for all Jayne has contributed to our church community and we are proud of her achievements! We hope you will join us in supporting and praying for Jayne as she takes this next step in her adventure. Jayne will continue to worship with us and work for the corps until early March 2023. 

Equip Kids
Last week, Bronte Lloyd shared with us in church about her experience at Equip Kids this year. If you'd like to see and hear more about the weekend away, check out this video from Equip Kids at Lake Mac this year: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xmhTmYLwrY

Brian Baines
Brian Baines is currently in Westmead Hospital because of an infection. He will be having tests this week. Please pray for Lynette and all the family. If you would like to get in touch, please SMS Lynette rather than phone. 

Appointment Announcements
The latest appointment announcements for the Australia Territory are listed below. Please pray for all officers and faith expressions impacted by these changes. Click here to read the latest annocuemenls. 

Connect Site
28/11/22 - Help needed
30/11/22 - Will & Kerry
01/12/22 - Marg Poore

Morning Tea
27/11/22 - Johnny, Bing Bing and Heather

Coffee
27/11/22 - John & Kerrie

Welcomes
27/11/22 - 9:30am: Barb 11am: Ray