Prayer is an essential part of our faith journey, but most of us feel inadequate in our prayer life. This year our visiting theologian will be Rev. Marjorie Thompson, who is a leading voice in the church on the practice of prayer.

Marjorie is an ordained minister of the Presbyterian Church. She received her B.A. in religious studies from Swarthmore College, and her M.Div. from McCormick Theological Seminary where she became interested in church history and ecumenical studies. Over the past 25 years, Rev. Thompson has been a leading voice at Upper Room Ministries, and a recognized author in the church ecumenical. Palms has used her books in the past, including our Lenten small group curriculum last year, and the current class using Soul Feast: An Invitation to the Christian Spiritual Life.  Soul Feast has been widely used by seminaries of various denominations, as well as by local church groups and individual readers. There are three great opportunities to be in conversation with her:

Friday Evening at 7:00 p.m. in the Sanctuary:
"Prayer in a New Key: Deepening our Conversation with God"

Saturday Morning at 9:00 a.m. in Patten Hall:
"Gaining a Discerning Heart: In Quest of Divine Guidance"

Sunday Morning Services:
Marjorie will be preaching at both morning services.

Sundays, February 12 and 19

Palms’ generosity once again assists our mission partners. This ONE BIG shopping drive combines our spring-time food drive for BEAM, much needed food to the elementary school snack closets, and will bring new underwear, socks and clothing both to Dignity U Wear and our elementary school partners. Collection is this Sunday and next. Look for the collection barrels in Patten Hall. Below are the requested donations:

BEAM
Soup (not including ramen noodles)
Peanut Butter
Instant Mashed Potatoes
Powered Milk
Spaghetti/Tomato Sauce
Canned Fruit
Pasta
Baked Beans/Pork & Beans/Dried
Rice
Tuna/Canned Meats/Chili
Cereal/Oatmeal

SNACKS
Packages of Trail Mix
Packages of Dried Fruit
Granola Bars
Packages of Peanut Butter Crackers
Goldfish Snacks
Small Applesauce Containers
Raisins
Packages of Pretzels
Juice Boxes
Cheese and Cracker Packages

Dignity U Wear
K - 5th Grade New Underwear
(large sizes please)
New Socks of All Sizes
Gently Used Shorts and Pants

February 22, 7:00 p.m.

Ash Wednesday is a traditional service that marks the beginning of the Lenten season.  Worship will be led by the Shalom Sabbath team in the sanctuary, and center around hearing words of lament and hope.  There will be anointing with oil, ashes, and communion in the service.  Children and families are encouraged to attend as full participants in the service.

Saturday, February 11    6:00 p.m. in Fellowship Hall
Followed by a Fine Arts Concert with Chanson du Soir
at 7:30 p.m. in the Sanctuary


Celebrate Valentine’s Day, a tradition at Palms, with a church-wide annual Valentine Spectacular Gourmet Dinner on Saturday, February 11th at 6:00 p.m.  Tickets for the dinner only, are $20.00 per person and childcare available. Ticket sales can be purchased after morning worship services or through the church office.  Barry Adeeb of Beach Diner will provide his spectacular gourmet dinner for all to enjoy! 



Followed by a Fine Arts program at 7:30 p.m. performed by Chanson du Soir, a soprano and guitar duo on tour from California.  The Fine Arts concert is free and open to all.

Tuesday, January 31

Do you have plans for lunch on Tuesday, January 31st? If not, come to Lulu’s restaurant on the Intracoastal Waterway at noon for great food and fellowship with other men from Palms. We meet there on the 4th Tuesday of each month and have a great time sharing and laughing together.  Join us if you can. No reservations are needed, just show up!  Lulu’s is located at 301 Roscoe Blvd. North in Palm Valley (285-0139). Questions?  Call Bill Tickle at 285-2795.

Six of our college members have expressed an interest in the spring mission trip to Haiti.  Because of a generous gift to them, their fundraiser offers 3 opportunities to win a foursome of golf at either the TPC Stadium Course, the King and Bear or the Golf Club of Amelia Island.  Tickets to win a golf outing are $50 each.  Tickets will be available after worship and through the church office until February 11th at the Valentine Dinner.  The drawing will be at the Valentine Dinner.  Invest in this incredible opportunity for our college students and you might be playing one of north Florida’s finest golf courses with your friends! 

Are you interested in becoming a member of Palms?  The Palms community takes seriously our commitment to journey together in discipleship. We are not primarily members of an institution, but followers of Jesus Christ. We covenant to fellowship, grow, and serve together. Our journey is marked by mutual growth as we affirm each other, and hold one another accountable to a life of sharing God’s love and serving God’s mission. 

Therefore we invite anyone who is interested in becoming a member of the Palms community to our next membership opportunity. The class begins on Saturday, January 21st, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and includes breakfast.  (Nursery is available upon request.)  The class will then continue as a small group for the next five Sundays during the Education Hour (9:40 -10:40 a.m.).  For more information, or to sign up for the class, please contact Rev. Andrew Kukla through the church office, 246-6427 or by email at andrew.kukla@palmschurch.org.

Palms has joined eleven other beaches churches to build a Beaches Habitat home.  Come be part of the excitement!  The location is 52 Simmons, between Mayport Road (A1A) and Francis Avenue in Atlantic Beach.  The work starts at 8:00 a.m.  If you would like to build with our team, go online to the Beaches Habitat website and register. Print the liability waiver and take it to the worksite. Please e-mail Sally Nielsen, snielsen@fscj.edu, to confirm that you plan to be there! The following workday schedule is:

Thursday - 1/19/2012
Saturday - 1/28/2012
Thursday - 2/16/2012
Saturday - 2/25/2012

The next event in the series:

Saturday, February 11, 2012  7:30pm    

     Chanson du Soir

Chanson du Soir is comprised of soprano Chelsea Camille and classical guitarist David Isaacs.  Established in 2005, the Southern California natives, have quickly garnered national recognition as a premier guitar and voice duo by being featured artists on concert series throughout the United States.  Driven by a passion to share their art, Chanson du Soir has booked, promoted, and completed 10 tours of various regions of the US.