Upcoming:

First Friday Event: Friday, November 7th:  Thanksgiving Around the World!!  Internationally Themed Progressive Dinner
Dinner will begin at 6:30pm, more details to follow in the next few days.

Faith For Thought, Saturday, November 8th: is a one-day conference for any college student, grad student, 20-something or individual who wants to connect real faith with real life. Our theme this year is “Everything Under the Sun.” If all things belong to God, what does this mean for our everyday lives and the issues we face as Christians? Faith for Thought is space to come to together with others who want to critically engage questions like this and be inspired into action. Keynote speakers include Crystal Downing, an English professor from Messiah College with her talk "Seeing with the Sun: Postmodern Reflections".  

Breakout sessions will be led by many very interesting people including our own Tracy Conklin and Suresh Canagarajah. The cost is $20, which includes lunch. Scholarships are available. For more information and to register, visit http://www.faith4thought.org/ or contact Tracy Conklin<tconklin@psu.edu>.

October is Fair Trade Month!! Check out these websites and see how you can help people from all around the world: http://transfairusa.org/content/connect/ftm08.php

TransFair USA enables sustainable development and community empowerment by cultivating a more equitable global trade model that benefits farmers, workers, consumers, industry and the earth. We achieve our mission by certifying and promoting Fair Trade products. 

Check out TransFair USA, a non-profit organization, is the only independent, third-party certifier of Fair Trade products in the U.S. TransFair's rigorous audit system verifies industry compliance with Fair Trade criteria. TransFair licenses over 600 U.S. companies to display the Fair Trade Certified label on agricultural products that meet strict international Fair Trade standards. TransFair is one of 23 members of Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International (FLO).  http://transfairusa.org/

Friday Forum: Friday, Oct. 31 at 4pm:  Brendaly Drayton of the Adult Education program will wrap up Friday Forum's six-part series on Faith and Pedagogy by focusing our attention on "Jesus as an Adult Educator."

This Friday Forum is the sixth installment of a six-part series on "Faith and Pedagogy."  Most of you will lead a classroom at some point in your graduate school careers.  Many of you will have had very little teacher's training or experience, and the classroom may look big, intimidating, unfriendly.  And that's before the students come in!  This series attempts to provide practical ways to be a good teacher but also Christian ways of thinking about the educational process--from the simplest classroom habits to the role of leader and facilitator, and/or to the latest and loftiest models of education and cognition.  In fact, the series is based on the assumption that thinking in Christian ways will help us think in practical ways as well--that being a Christian teacher really works.

Location: Pasquerilla Room 104 (Harshbarger Meeting Room). If you approach the Pasquerilla Center from the direction of the library, go to the entrance between the wings, go through both sets of doors, then take the second hallway to the right and go all the way to the end.

One-day Marriage Seminar, Saturday, November 8th:  Are you ready to go beyond the surface and cultivate a deeper connection? Consider this highly-acclaimed marriage seminar as your road map to doing just that. And think of Les and Leslie Parrott as your guides. They are entertaining, thought-provoking, and immeasurably practical. One minute you'll be laughing, and the next you'll sit still in silence as they open your eyes to how you can make your relationship all it was meant to be.  
9am-3pm, Saturday, Nov. 8, 2008
register now at www.calvarysc.org/seminars or contact mike@calvarysc.org for more info (ext. 23).
$75/Couples, $40/Singles

ThirdPlace Prayer Retreat Saturday, November 15th at 8:30am-12:30pm at Harvest Fields with Guest Facilitators Dan and Lynn Nold: The prayer retreat will be a unified time of corporate prayer and worship combined with solitude and time for reflection and connecting with God!  A time to connect with God, with others, be encouraged and unified, and pray on the behalf of others!

The schedule for the day is as follows:

* 8:30am-9:30am: Corporate prayer/worship.
* 9:30am-11:30am: Personal connection time with God. Solitude and Reflection.
* 11:30am-12:30pm: Group sharing/encouragement, along with corporate worship and prayer.

Don’t miss this opportunity, it’s a great way to connect with God and others!   Breakfast, coffee, and tea will be provided :)  Please RSVP to Lois at lois@calvarysc.org.  

LEADERSHIP ADVANCE ’09: January 8-10 A three-day don’t-miss experience of self-exploration, motivating speaking sessions, team challenge, and…God coming down. Leadership Advance is a call to AWAKEN OUR HEARTS to God so He can shape us, change us, and help us discover the gifts He has placed in us. Leadership Advance is a call to AWAKEN OUR HEARTS to the people around us and the needs of those in our midst. Leadership Advance is a call to AWAKEN OUR HEARTS to the needs of the 
world and urgency of our times. Lives that wake up to the call of God and the transformation. He wants to do in us  are lives that transform the world.  www.leadershipadvance.org Early bird deadline is NOV 21 – get those applications in and save $30! 

Midtown Launch!: Coming to the 11am service? Remember Calvary Midtown launched this past weekend at the State College High School South building auditorium (650 Westerly Parkway). This is the first phase in Calvary's multi-site strategy  -- We are asking God to saturate the Centre Region with transforming communities that carry the DNA of His hope for the world. Be a part of the dream.

A Note from Calvary’s Leadership Team: October is Clergy Appreciation Month: We realize that our wonderful pastors are supported by a fabulous staff team and terrific families. Your Leadership Team invites you to bless our pastors and staff and their families during Clergy Appreciation Month by praying for them. We encourage you to send greetings and blessings directly to those who have touched your lives. You can find their e-addresses http://www.calvarysc.org/index.php?cid=78&section=3.  If you would like to contribute anonymously to a gift from the Calvary family, just specify "staff gift" on the memo line of a check made out to "Calvary Baptist Church" and put in the offering plate or drop boxes. You may designate gift amounts to individuals or families. Undesignated staff gifts will be pooled and divided among pastors and staff. Gifts are not tax deductible but will be recorded on your end-of-year report. Thank you for your joyful and prayerful support of our wonderful church staff.