Life at Unity. December 3, 2018

Transcription

1 Life at Unity December 3, 2018 Since 1788 United in Christ s love, we glorify God through worship, nurture, and service to all people. Celebrating 230 Years of Mission and Ministry PRAYER CONCERNS FINAL WEEK FOR MAKING CHRISTMAS MEMORIALS AND HONORARIUMS SUNDAY is the FINAL date for submitting Christmas Memorials and Honorarium forms to the church office. Forms are available in the church office, are found in the Welcome Pads, or can be downloaded from the church website. Please make your check payable to Unity, and write Christmas Memorial/Honorarium on the memo line. The deadline for these gifts is Sunday, December 9th. A booklet listing these gifts will be available in the Narthex on December 16th. ADVENT DEVOTIONS Advent has begun! Devotion booklets with devotions written by youth and adults in our congregation, as well as pop-up Advent calendars for young children, are available in the Narthex. The daily devotions written by our congregation members can also be found on the church website and Facebook page. Be sure and share these with your friends and neighbors. BIRTHDAY PARTY FOR JESUS Please join us for an angelic celebration for our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, at our Birthday Party for Jesus on Saturday, December 15th at 10:00am in the Fellowship Hall. Parents and grandparents are encouraged to bring their young children to this family event where we will celebrate through crafts, games, songs, and a snack. Birthday presents will be donated to the Fort Mill Care Center. Diapers (size 3 and up), baby wipes, baby food, and Gerber baby formula are most needed at this time. Patsy White Robert Priode Steve Gribble Beth Anderson Greyson Gload Betty Kimbrell Millie Williams Dickie Havnaer Vera Reid Mike Brown Bob Tuthill* Charlee Rae Gribble* Dot Hollis* Margaret Morgan* Libby Kern* Dee Rutter* Bob Lane* Billy Barron* Our Mission Coworkers Cindy Corell - Haiti Dori Hjalmarson - Honduras *Long Term Prayer Concern Dearest Unity Family, Thank you for all the thoughtful cards and prayers in the recent death of my sister, Mary Alice. They re all so special to me and my family. Please continue to keep us in your prayers in the coming weeks. With love, Lea Shannon

2 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION STAFF Kathryn McGregor Director of Christian Education (children and adults) Rev. Lindsay White Assoc. Pastor for Youth Ministries (youth grades 6-12) Melissa Dye Children in Worship Coordinator Linda Bunge Director of Unity Preschool Lauren Lochel Nursery Coordinator WHAT WE VE BEEN UP TO CHRISTIAN EDUCATION YEAR OF THE BIBLE READINGS FOR THE WEEK OF DEC 3 Sunday: Hosea 7-8 / Psalm Monday: Hosea 9-10 / Revelation 2 Tuesday: Hosea / Revelation 3 Wednesday: Hosea / Revelation 4 Thursday: Joel 1-2 / Psalms 139 Friday: Joel 3 / Revelation 5 Saturday: Amos 1-2 / Revelation 6 YEAR OF THE BIBLE: TRIVIA TRIVIA QUESTIONS DEC. 4 But first, the answers to last week s questions: John was on the island of Patmos when he received the message of Revelation ( Rev 1:9) King Nebuchadnezzar went mad and lived as a beast before being restored as king. (Dan 4: 31-36) While you re reading this week, think about these questions: Which Psalm affirms that the Lord knows all about us, wherever we are? What is John told when he weeps because no one is worthy to open the scroll sealed with seven seals? CHILDREN PASSPORT KIDS Register now for PASSPORTkids! Camp Unity will take a group to PASSPORT kids! Camp at Montreat Conference Center June 30 - July 3, This fun-filled four day, three night camp is for children and youth who are currently in 3rd-6th grade. Kathryn McGregor and other Unity adult chaperones will travel with the group to Montreat for camp. We will stay in hotel style lodging at the conference center, where all of our meals will be eaten, except lunch on the trip there and back. The cost is $335, which includes the cost of lunch on the way home on Wednesday. A non-refundable registration deposit of $100 is due by January 9. Register online at 2

3 TRANSPORTATION This team provides a ride to appointments, errands, and Sunday services as needed. Please contact Denese Reichenbach if you need any of these services. Dreichenbach@comporium.net FROM THE FINANCIAL OFFICE: 2018 CONTRIBUTIONS WELCOME TO UNITY COFFEE A Welcome to Unity Coffee will be held Sunday, December 9th, at 10:00 am in the Hospitality Room, M201. This is a time for new folks and visitors to come together with members to learn more about Unity Presbyterian Church. You will hear about our church, its mission, service and how God might be calling you here. You will have an opportunity to ask questions. Follow the hallway to the right as you leave the Narthex. Room M201 will be on the left. You are welcome to join us! YEAR-END GIVING CONSIDERATIONS Gifts of Appreciated Assets such as stocks and mutual funds When appreciated assets are donated to a non-profit charity like Unity, two benefits are realized. First, Unity gains the full value of the donated stock. Secondly, the owner likely would not owe any tax on the increased value of the asset. Charitable IRA Rollover aka Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) For individuals with Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA), there are requirements once you turn 70½ to begin taking Required Minimum Distributions (RMD). Under current rules, individuals age 70½ or older may transfer up to $100,000 annually from their IRA accounts directly to a charity like Unity without recognizing the distribution as income. Such a distribution counts toward the Required Minimum Distribution (RMD), the mandatory, minimum yearly withdrawals that generally must be taken starting the in the year after you turn 70½ and avoid any penalty tax that occurs by not meeting the RMD. This is a tax benefit to the individual and also provides a benefit to Unity. Donor Advised Funds (DAF s) DAF s provide a simplified way to manage charitable giving. Transfer cash or securities to an IRS approved donor fund. The donor retains flexibility to decide the amounts and timing of distributions from the fund to charitable organizations such as Unity. It is important that you seek the advice of your tax or financial professional in any of these cases. In order for your year-end contributions to be credited to 2018 giving, they must be delivered to the office or dropped it in an offering plate by December 31, Online transactions must occur before January 1st and any contribution we receive via the US Postal Service must be postmarked before January 1st. WE NEED YOU Calling all grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles, coaches and fun people! Children in Worship needs you! There is a need for more volunteers for our 8:45am and 11:00am services. Storytellers, Greeters and Helpers. Training provided! Paid in smiles and hugs. See the stories of the Bible come to life through the eyes of Unity s children. Come visit us in the historic sanctuary to see what this wonderful program is all about. Questions or to volunteer- Contact Melissa Dye at ciw@unityfortmill.org LAST SUNDAY S ATTENDANCE 8:45 am :00 am Livestream

4 PW NOMINATION Nominations are currently being accepted for Presbyterian Women Honorary Life Membership Award. The forms can be picked up in the church office, in the narthex, or online. The deadline is December 8th and forms can be turned into the church office. Contact Susan Bates at for more info. CHILDREN S ATTENTION HOME COVERED DISH All adults are invited to a Christmas Covered-Dish Dinner in the Fellowship Hall on Friday, December 7 at 6:30 pm. Contact Joyce White at murrayw@comporium.net for more information. LUNCH BUNCH Lunch Bunch will have their usual covered dish luncheon on Dec. 10, 12:00 in the Fellowship Hall. Margaret Monroe will be with us for a Christmas sing along. Bring your favorite dish and join us for good food and Christmas spirt. 4 The Children s Attention Home is a local organization that provides a safe and nurturing home for abused and neglected children. Unity is working with them, but with Christmas on the horizon, they could use some extra help! They have sent us their Christmas wish list here: Christmas Wish Lists Sponsoring a child and gifting them with (2) outfits, a pair of shoes, (3) toys/gifts, a coat/hat/glove/scarf set, and a gift card. Supporting our Campus Wish List by providing items for our cottages, kitchen, office, and recreation needs lists. Sponsoring a meal for our children. Serve as one of Santa's Helpers by shopping, gift sorting, organizing, and wrapping. Talented wrappers ages 16 and up are welcome to serve. Adopt A Bedroom to help us spruce up our children's living quarters with new bedding, wall art, and storage bins. Sponsor an experience for our children at a local restaurant, attraction, or sporting event. Host a Holiday Activity for the children in our care. Please go to their website for more information or to sign up at

5 FROM HABITAT... COME SEE ADVENT DECORATIONS IN THE NEWLY REFRESHED HISTORIC SANCTUARY Have you seen the Historic Sanctuary lately? The Buildings & Ground Ministry Team has completed wall repairs, painting, as well as cleaning and waxing all the woodwork (pews, furniture, and organ). The Worship and Music Ministry Team has refinished the organ pipes. And now the History to Our Story Team is decorating the Historic Sanctuary for Advent. The Advent decorations will be unveiled on Saturday, December 8th for the Annual Fort Mill History Museum Holiday Tour and then for the Unity congregation on Sunday, December 9th through Christmas. The work to the Historic Sanctuary has been funded through church members giving regularly to the budget and several donor restricted gifts. Thanks everyone. POST AT UNITY Cards are a wonderful way to express our Christian love and care for each other. What better way to show someone you care than sending a Christmas greeting through Unity s own Christmas Post. New Horizons Circle will provide Unity Christmas Post for our Unity members starring now! You will find the mailboxes in the hallway just outside the Narthex. Guidelines Address your cards with first and last names of your Unity friends Place you Christmas cards to Unity members in the appropriate boxes. Place the money you would have used for postage in one of the boxes on each end of the mailboxes Check your box frequently to retrieve your mail, even if you didn t send your greetings through Unity Christmas Post The postage money will go into our Pastors Discretionary Fund for them to use to help those in need. If you write a check for your postage, please mark it Unity Post. This will be tax deductible. Unity Christmas Post will be up through January 6th. Cards will be placed in a box in the Narthex through January 13th, and then will be recycled. Christmas Blessings to All! We want to thank our faithful and dedicated volunteers who support Habitat during the year. Over the past year in York County, 1,838 volunteers gave a total of 18,246 hours or service in our ReStore and building or repairing homes with 45 families and their children. Habitat could not do this work without the generous support of our caring volunteers. TRAVEL TO THE HOLY LAND Interested in a trip to the Holy Land in March 2020? There will be a short meeting on December 9 immediately after the 11:00 service in Room M210 to discuss possible plans for a group trip to the Holy Land in March Anyone who may have an interest in joining others from Unity on this trip is welcome to attend this meeting. Optional trip itineraries and costs, etc. will be discussed. If you are unable to attend the meeting on December 9, please contact Dan Rogers at to learn more about this trip. PRAYER CHAIN Do you know that there are two (2) ways to be added to Unity s Prayer Chain, or to ask for prayer for family, friends, or neighbors? requests to Dannie Vaughn (vaughndl@comporium.net) or call Jerry Brady ( ). 5

6 ANGEL TREE Please make sure to bring your angel gifts by this Sunday, December 9. The 11:00 service will be the deadline for having them here so that we can begin preparing them for distribution immediately after the worship service. They will be tagged and ready for distribution on December 11. It is always a joy to see the parents as they receive their gifts. Many thanks are expressed and hugs given for our generosity. We have even been told that some of these children would not have gifts if we had not provided them. PHASE ONE: PRESCHOOL WORKROOM COMPLETED This child-friendly nativity set is a new addition to the Preschool/Nursery/Music hall and was designed and made by Doris Dunn and Beth Rice. This year, Unity s Endowment provided a grant for a three phase project in the Preschool/Nursery Wing. Work has been completed on the first phase, a new work area at the end of the Nursery/Preschool hallway for use by Children s Ministry programs. The second two phases include moving the Preschool Director out of her current office location and relocating her in the reception area shared by the Nursery Coordinator and renovating the original Preschool Director s office to make a sensory room. Moving the preschool directors office will enable her to be closer to the exterior double doors and covered entry. Moving her office makes space for the sensory room, which will be shared by children with special needs in our nursery and weekday preschool. The sensory room will be specially designed to manage stimuli (lights, colors, sounds, surfaces) in order to provide children a more suitable environment for their comfort, calm, and learning. These two phases will be completed in early This special three phase project is being funded by generous donors to the Unity Endowment. Additional updates will be provided as we complete the various phases of this needed ministry. FROM SENIOR PASTOR MARK One year ago I landed at Unity to begin the interim process required for a transition time in the Senior Pastor/Head of Staff position. The year has been busy and much progress was made. These are the encouraging accomplishments: During this past year, a History-to-our-Story Team (HOST) was recruited and they completed the historical review now on the hallway walls between the sanctuary and the educational building. It details the origins and major themes of this congregation s life and ministry, who Unity Presbyterian Church has been, and who we are today. This is the foundation upon which the future will be built. [If you have not personalized this history with your own milestones shared on the timeline, please do so over the course of the next two months.]...cont on back cover

7 NEW MEMBER IN OCTOBER 2018 Jo Ann Cantrell joins Unity by transfer of letter from First Presbyterian Church Mooresville, NC. Jo Ann and her husband live in Sun City, Fort Mill SC. Jo Ann grew up in South Carolina and moved to Charlotte as a young person. She and her husband have two children and 3 grandchildren. JoAnn is a retired High School English Teacher. NEW MEMBERS IN NOVEMBER 2018 Janet Bassford joins Unity by transfer of letter from Christ United Methodist Church in Greensboro NC. Janet and her husband Dan moved to Fort Mill in 2017 and attended worship together as long as his health allowed. They have 3 daughters and 7 grandchildren., most of whom are in this area. Dan passed away in October of this year. Dan and Janet were active members in their previous churches. Janet is grateful for the support she feels from her family and church. George and Debby Bauserman join Unity by transfer of letter from St Giles Presbyterian Church in Greenville SC. George and Debby are both Elders in the PCUSA and have been active in their church life. They moved here to be near their 2 grown daughters, who are Unity members, Jessica Martin and Amy Menchaca. They have 3 other grown children and 8 grandchildren. The Bausermans work at Medical Video Concept. Cameron and Deanna Bradner join Unity by transfer of letter from Harrison UMC in Pineville NC. Cameron is the nephew of our member, Marion Bradner. The Bradners have two children, Rebecca (7), CJ (4). Cameron works as an Electrical Foreman and Deanna is a homemaker. Scott Hermanns joins Unity by transfer of letter from First Presbyterian Church in Merchantville, NJ, which is across the NJ/PA line near Philadelphia. Scott is a Charlotte Firefighter. He is engaged to Emily and they live in Rock Hill, SC. Emily Ensley joins Unity by reaffirmation of faith. Emily is a surgical technologist. Emily and Scott plan on getting married at Unity in September. Kendra Ryan joins Unity by reaffirmation of faith. Kendra was raised Catholic. She and her husband, Daniel, moved to Fort Mill this summer from Massachusetts with their two girls, Josephine (6), Georgia (2). Kendra is a Registered Nurse. Daniel will be attending Connections Class in Jan Photo later with whole family.

8 SAFEKEEPING YOUR WILL Written by Joseph L Raad, Attorney at Law Here are a few Q&As you can use to safeguard your Will and ensure it is accessible when needed. Is it necessary to have my original Will? In South Carolina only a document bearing the original signature of the testator and witnesses can be submitted to probate. A photocopy is not an original, nor is an electronic version such as a fax or scanned copy. Where should I keep my Will? Someplace safe from fire and theft, such as a bank safe deposit box or a home safe. If you keep your Will in a safe deposit box, a person in your immediate family (spouse or adult descendent) or a person named personal representative in your will (a copy is used to prove this) may access the box after your death. Does the lawyer who prepared my Will have my original? Most likely not. This is a rare practice today. If you do not have your original Will contact a lawyer as soon as possible. If lost you must re-sign your Will. Is my Will recorded? Not in South Carolina. In closing, please take special care of your legal documents, as they are your legacy. To lose them and not have your wishes honored is a true misfortune. Joseph L. Raad is Senior Counsel with Morton & Gettys Law Firm in Rock Hill, SC. He is a Certified Specialist in Estate Planning and Probate Law. He can be reached at (803) or joe.raad@mortongettys.com. 6 SESSION-APPROVED CLOSING POLICY On occasion, conditions exist that necessitate the closing of the church office and/or the entire campus. Types of conditions could range from inclement weather (storms, ice, etc.) to issues with the facilities (power outage, lack of water, etc.) and other situations. When the church office and/or campus is closed, church staff will therefore not be working on the campus. Listed below are highlights from the new closing policy. Unity s first concern is always the safety of our members, community, and staff when considering the closing the office and/or campus. A final decision will be made at least 24 hours prior to an anticipated incident. If the decision is to remain open, no announcement will be made. When inclement weather affects Fort Mill and the local region, it is understood that the conditions may be worse in some areas than in others. If Unity makes the decision to continue with planned activities, each member and family is to exercise appropriate caution in determining whether it is safe to travel to the church campus. Just because the church campus is open it does not mean it is safe for everyone to be traveling to Unity. The Senior Pastor, along with the Church Administrative Officer, will review information and advisories from multiple sources, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, York County Office of Emergency Management, and public school systems in making a decision. The primary means of communication will be placing announcements on the following sources: Unity website ( Unity social media posts. Unity telephone system ( ). WBT radio (1110 AM / 99.3 FM). For more detailed information, please contact Jacob Saylor, Church Administrative office, at jsaylor@unityfortmill.org.

9 7

10 Unity Presbyterian Church 303 Tom Hall Street PO Box 1267 Fort Mill, SC JOIN US SUNDAY 8:45 a.m. Worship service 10:00 a.m. Sunday School 11:00 a.m. Worship service FROM THE COMMUNICATIONS OFFICE Newsletter Info Deadline: Wednesday by 5:00 pm Return Service Requested UnityFortMill.org Cont from pg 6 In addition, a Mission Study Team (MST) was chosen which initiated and completed an exhaustive review of the congregation s demographics and values and hopes, and the needs of the surrounding Fort Mill community. This team produced a Mission Study Report (approved by the Session last week) which distills the needs and opportunities and realities and hopes of this congregation into a vision statement and a mission statement that will guide Unity s ministry into the future. Once the Presbytery approves the thoroughness of the study, the study will be publicized to the congregation and Unity will be allowed to elect a Pastor Nominating Committee to search for the next Senior Pastor. [Stay tuned for the Mission Study Report s publication!] In addition, transition plans have been implemented allowing Jeannie Bickett to serve part-time. This entailed hiring a temporary part-time Coordinator of Congregational Care, Health, and Worship Ministries (Sally Herlong) to handle the responsibilities that Jeannie will no longer coordinate. Because of the Staff Ministry Team s foresight, Unity now has these two skilled staff members who contribute to ministry among us! These major accomplishments were possible because of the dedicated leadership of lay persons who invested substantial time and energy on behalf of this congregation and the Lord we serve. Thank you to each person who served on the History-to-our-Story Team, the Mission Study Team, and the Staff Ministry Team! I hope you will express your gratitude to them as well! HOST members: Sissy Martin (Chair), Jean Knox, Alex Sullivan, Dannie Vaughn, Tammie Welch, Murray White... MST members: Steve Hardy (Chair), Anne Cardozo, Kathryn Glenn, Strat Lake, John Lee, Lynn Ringley, Chuck Welfare... Staff Ministry Team members: Bob Mobley (Chair), Bill Reigel, Doris Dunn, Dorothy Gambrell, Gary Boetsch, Jeff Shouse, Karen Chase, Lisa Cowart, Nim Kyger Routh Grace and peace, Mark Mark E. Diehl Church Office Emergency Pastoral Line Senior Interim Pastor Mark E. Diehl Senior Associate Pastor Jeannie Bickett Associate Pastor for Youth Ministry Lindsay White