an Open & Affirming Congregation of the United Church of Christ Monthly Newsletter Hold Your Horses and sheep and camels, too!

Transcription

1 an Open & Affirming Congregation of the United Church of Christ December 2018 Pastors: Michael Blackwood & Greg Garland 825 Kohl Street, Broomfield, CO broomfielducc.org Hold Your Horses and sheep and camels, too! Did you survive Thanksgiving? Are you prepared now for Christmas? Well, stop it! Don t forget about Advent. Sometimes, I feel bad for Advent because it seems to get forgotten between Thanksgiving and Christmas. It s the (church) holiday that often gets overlooked. People get uptight when Christmas carols begin playing before Thanksgiving because many say, it s not time yet or can t we celebrate one holiday at a time? But no one gets uptight or agitated when Advent Hymns aren t sung or when Christmas carols are sung BEFORE Christmas actually happens. As soon as Thanksgiving is done, we move right on to Christmas: putting up the tree, hanging stockings, draping garland and colored lights. It s easily overlooked that there are twelve days of Christmas (there s a song about it, remember) and they begin on 12/25, not the day after Thanksgiving. Okay my tongue lashing is done. I don t want to chastise anyone for putting up decorations or singing Jingle Bells. But, I want us to remember that Advent is a season (holiday) that is important. It s because of Advent that Christmas IS Christmas. Advent is hope, anticipation, preparation and titillating tension! These feelings start building up in folks when there is a discussion about gifts under the tree, but about Jesus? Na! We know he s coming; he s not a surprise! Wrong! Jesus is the gift for whom we re waiting. We re preparing to receive the Good News that is Jesus Christ. So how are we celebrating? Got an Advent calendar? They re cheap free is some cases. There are kid versions and adult ones, too. And they re great for helping us to focus on Advent (not Christmas yet). Advent calendar have little gifts or suggested acts of love that LEAD us to Christmas; having a meal with others, praying for those in need, giving time/money/ talents, meditating or repenting. We already do these things, some might say, and I agree. But Advent is a wonderful opportunity to continue doing these things with renewed purpose. I m excited about Christmas, but I m also excited about Advent. May you be, as well. Look Inside. December Anniversaries & Birthday s 2 Mission Minute & Upcoming Events 3 Our Mission Statement Members at Large Update 4 Pastor Greg s Gandering & Prayer Requests 5 Small Groups & Activities 6 December & January Calendar & Notes 7 Winter Sunday Hours: 8:15AM Adult Choir 9AM Sunday School 10AM Service of Celebration

2 2 December Sean McKee 8 Paul Diekhoff 10 Craig Keyes Michael Blackwood 11 Corey Hill 15 Marlyce Buderus Peter Crouse 19 Jan Fausset Larry & Kay Emery 12/1/1973 Mark & Peggy Stevens 12/15/1973 Peter & Carolyn Crouse 12/15/1984 Robert & Marie Hoyle 12/22/1977 Corey & Desiree Hill 12/28/ Kay Emery Shelly Garland Nicholas Jacobs Kevin & Keri Jacobs 12/28/ Sherill Bunetta If we missed your b day please contact the church office. Your 2018 Church Leadership Michael Blackwood Lead Co Pastor Greg Garland Co Pastor Jennie Belval Moderator Corey Hill Vice Moderator Mary Beth Jones Clerk Brian Conn Financial Secretary Gary McKee Treasurer Carol Bliss, Jan Fausset Members at Large - - Commi ee Chairs Larry Bliss/Nancy McKee Trustees Alice Kidney Worship Kathy Wathen Spiritual Care Carissa Fralin Chris an Educa on Tom O em Mission Desi Hill Fellowship Worship Service Volunteer Sign-Up If you'd like to sign up to volunteer as Liturgist, offer a Kid's Time message or host after service snacks, we have a new way to do so. Just click here: Worship Help and simply follow the directions to sign up. It's easy and we appreciate all your volunteer efforts. And don't forget that you can put pen to paper and still sign up on the sheets hanging in the Narthex.

3 Nov December 2018 Upcoming Events 3 Thanksgiving Food Drive - We had great weather and a great turn out for the food drive November 10th. We helped the food bank at Henderson UCC collect supplies to provide Thanksgiving dinner (turkeys and all the trimmings) to 75 families that they serve. Our youth helped us collect and organize 26 turkeys, 2 hams and an entire van-load of sides. Plus they helped deliver it and get it all put away at the food bank. We really helped their effort and the folks at Henderson UCC were very appreciative. Thank you to everyone who contributed! A Precious Child Gift Drive Sunday 12/9 - We are also continuing what has become a tradition in recent years of supporting the Christmas gift drive that A Precious Child organizes every December. We will be helping them by collecting gifts for teenagers (gift cards, ear buds, bubble bath, etc). These are an important contribution because at the Giving Trees that you'll see all over town the tags for teenagers are often the last to be picked or go unpicked. So we help A Precious Child meet the needs for those kids. We handed out reminders on November 11th and will do another round again on December 2nd. Monthly FISH Collection - We are also keeping up the monthly collection of personal items to benefit FISH. That is the first Sunday of every month. They are always in need of toothpaste, deodorant, shampoo and all types of personal care items and toiletries.

4 4 December 2018 Did You Know... December 2018 The Trustees work day went really well as we rid the yard of leaves, pulled weeds and did some inside cleaning as well. As it takes a community to raise a child; it takes lots of church members to keep the church clean and appealing indoors and out. Thanks to everyone who took the time out of their busy schedule to share in these necessary tasks. THANK YOU!! A Huge thank you to the vendors and all the shoppers who participated in the Holiday Bazaar. Even though the weather wasn't in our favor, the event went well and we all had a great time. If you missed it, hopefully you will be able to make it to the one next year. It is our hope to grow the vendors and offerings and bring in more shoppers. We were able to collect items for FISH and also made a donation to the church for hosting the event. One of the items sold were souvenir ornaments containing strips of music made from the old red hymnals previously sung during worship. The ornaments are $4.00 each and if anyone is interested in purchasing them (all proceeds go to the church) there were a few left over. They will be available Sunday mornings or by order. (See Carol Bliss to order if they're gone.) FISH fundraising luncheon, Harvest of Hope - I know some of you were able to attend this annual fund raiser and celebration. It was a wonderful event that brought in donations to help support FISH. Many people depend on FISH to help feed their families but that isn't all that FISH does for the community. It also assists people in many other ways such as budgeting, jobs, etc. With the cost of housing, food, utilities, clothing, medical care, etc. constantly rising, more and more families find it more and more difficult to make ends meet and keep food on the table. As many of you know, Emily Joo is a member of the FISH Staff and she tells us that food is going out faster than they can bring it in. Thank you to everyone who helps support this worthwhile organization. Greening of the Church happened on November 25th. Thank You to everyone who stayed after service to help decorate for the Christmas Holiday. The church always looks so nice with all the festive decorations to celebrate the birth of Christ. We are always looking for volunteers to help with Sunday Morning Worship Service. We need liturgists, children s sermons, nursery attendants and refreshments. Please consider helping and sign-up on line or in the narthex. Christmas Eve Candle Light Service will be held at 7:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. This is always a very heartfelt service and I hope you'll be able to attend one. In case you missed Pastor Michael's , this is a great opportunity to join the choir temporarily for this one service. If you would like to participate, let Michael know. Come and "Make a Joyful Noise Unto the Lord"!! If you haven't already gotten your tag for A Precious Child, please consider grabbing one. The church is once again participating in helping A Precious Child make Christmas a little better for less fortunate teens. We are asking for $25.00 gift cards to be given to teens so they can purchase something for themselves for Christmas. The Thanksgiving Food Drive to benefit the Henderson UCC Church in Brighton was a huge success. Thank you to everyone who donated and to our youth who collected and delivered all the donated food and helped to stock shelves at the receiving church. THANK YOU Gary McKee for cleaning the carpets throughout the church and KSK during the Thanksgiving break. Be sure to let Gary know how much we appreciate everything he does around the Church. The Trustees will be scheduling time (hopefully) during the Christmas break to do some repairs and painting in Fellowship Hall. Some of the registers are in need of repair and painting to dress the room up. Perhaps we can get some other painting done as we move forward in improving yet another room in the Church. Would you be interested in helping? See trustee co-chairs Nancy McKee or Larry Bliss. Something else to look forward to is a new keypad entry system for the church. This system will be installed over KSK s Christmas break. Each church family will receive their own personal number to enter the building as well as parents of our preschool and members of other organizations that use the church. This is a major step in the Trustee's work on addressing safety for everyone who uses the building. Work continues toward developing guidelines for overall safety in the church. Carol Bliss and Nancy McKee have been busy attending various training conferences to gather as much information as possible. This is a project that insurance companies are encouraging and being addressed by local law enforcement agencies to assist congregations, schools and other organizations develop safety procedures. If you haven't already turned in your pledges for 2019 please consider what you can give and submit your cards. I know that no one likes to be reminded to pledge but it is an important piece in the everyday operating expenses of the Church. As of Thanksgiving, we re at about 85% of meeting our faith budget for 2019 based on pledges. Submitting your pledge helps us develop the budget for the upcoming year and to know what funding we will have to keep bills paid and the lights on. Thank You for your support. MAY YOUR CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY BE HEALTHY, HAPPY AND FULL OF BLESSINGS.

5 5 December 2018 Please keep Livvy and Larry Gibb in your prayers as Livvy undergoes eye surgery. We pray for a successful procedure and a speedy recovery. Please pray for the family and friends of Rosann Doran, who passed into eternal life. -Jennie Belval Mark Roberts had a PET scan with some questionable/concerning results. He will be going in for an MRI in order to obtain more information. Please keep Mark Roberts in your prayers, along with Neola, Bill and their family and friends. A prayer request for Jane Shelton's brother, Russ Martin who is undergoing chemotherapy and radiation treatment for prostate cancer. Keep Jane and her family in your prayers. Please keep Kristi Foshee s mother, Jerre Seibel in your prayers. There was a fire at her apartment complex. She was able to get out safely with the help of firefighters, but has been unable to return due to safety concerns in the building. She is safely with her daughter Kim in Littleton. Just a little post-thanksgiving gander. Perhaps some people fear immigrants because of what the first immigrants to this land did. It was the Wampanoag in 1621 who helped the first wave of Puritans arriving on our shores, showing them how to plant crops, forage for wild foods and basically survive. The first official mention of a Thanksgiving celebration occurs in 1627, after the colonists brutally massacre an entire Pequot village, then subsequently celebrate their barbaric victory. Years later, President Washington first tried to start a holiday of Thanksgiving in 1789, but this has nothing to do with Indians and settlers, instead it s intended to be a public day of thanksgiving and prayer. (That the phrase Merciliess Savage Indians is written into the Declaration of Independence says everything we need to know about how the founders of America viewed the Indigenous Peoples of this land. Sean Sherman, Time Magazine November 17,2018 We can do better. The message we hear loud and clear during the Advent and Christmas season is Be not afraid God is with us.

6 46 December March Book Club Update: Friday, December 28th at 7PM at the home of Debbie Kullby, co-host Alice Kidney. We will be discussing The Girl Who Wrote in Silk by Kelli Estes Marie Valenzuela has a book bag with books from the library. KSK BASE & Preschool NEWS Thank you to all who participated in the fundraiser. We wish you all a Men s Fellowship will meet Sat. December 1st ipie Gathering Circle will meet Sat. Dec. 8th at 8:30am at the home Pat James Harris St. Thornton, It will be a potluck and ornament exchange. Pat s Adult Class The Adult Sunday School class that meets in the front part of the Steele Commons Room will continue their study on the life of Jesus, studying the Passion Week. All are welcome to join us. For more information, contact Pat James. Attendance & Offering Oct Offering: $11, collected / $13, budget (under by $1,650.67) Nov Offering: $11, collected / $13, budget (under by $1,670.67) YTD Offering: (thru 11/30) Adults / Kids Nov 4 = 64/5 Nov 11 = 49/10 Nov 19 = 63/8 Nov 25 = 57/7 $132, collected / $143, budget (under by $11,009.98) End of the year is approaching...do you know the status of your pledge? Contact Gary McKee for an update.

7 7 December 2018 If you see something on our website, Facebook, newspaper that you like - please tell others like a Facebook post forward to your friends, neighbors. Help more know why you like our church.