Life at Unity. December 11, 2018

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1 Life at Unity December 11, 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 FIRE AT UNITY Last Sunday night, Unity Hall caught fire. Unity Hall was built in 1938, and has been completely gutted by fire damage, including Lindsay s office and the libraries. The Historic Sanctuary and Ministries Building have both been damaged by smoke and water, but the 2010 Sanctuary is fully operational and has sustained no damage. No one was hurt, and there were over 50 firefighters working to stop the fire. We can not thank our firefighters enough. We want to especially thank Captain Broome, who had fond memories of the Historic Sanctuary and would not let the windows there be broken. Clean up and environmental management has already been started. Our Sunday services, Lessons and Carols, and CIW will all be happening. Other activities held in the effected buildings are still pending. Please only park in the front of the church and enter through the narthex or preschool doors. And remember Mark Diehl s words;. Be of good courage and do not lose heart, for God s presence surely goes with us. 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 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.

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: TRIVIA TRIVIA QUESTIONS DEC. 11 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 SNOW TUBING All Middle School Youth are invited to a Snow Tubing trip on Saturday, January 26. We will travel together to Hawk s Nest Snow Tubing in Seven Devils, NC for two sessions of snow tubing, lunch, and lots of fun together. We will leave from the church at 9:00 am and return around 9:00 pm. The cost is $70 per person, and students should sign up using the link on the website. The deadline to sign up is January 13. 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. 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. NEW VISION IN HONDURAS Please consider a year end gift to Eye Clinic in Trinidad, Copan in northwest Honduras. Providence Presbytery is raising funds for a generator for the Clinic. All the materials needed for the Clinic have been shipped and we hope to have the first cataract surgery in spring of The generator is the last piece of the project. You can mail your check to Providence Presbytery. If you have any questions, please reach out to Nancy Nutter or Joyce Sullivan. LAST SUNDAY S ATTENDANCE 8:45 am :00 am Livestream

4 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. 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. 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 ( ). 4 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!

5 STAY IN TOUCH You already know about our newsletter, but did you know there are other ways to engage with Unity Presbyterian? 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. WEBSITE: You can find all of the information about our church here, upcoming events, registration forms, and more. FACEBOOK: Unity Presbyterian Church has a Facebook page! Like us for inspirational quotes, Bible verses, event pictures, and interesting articles. GOOGLE+: Did you know the more reviews we have on Google, the faster our website is pulled up when someone is searching? Review us by googling Unity Fort Mill, just click the review button on the right hand side! YELP: Help new people find us by rating us on the Yelp app! Share your stories there too. If you have any news, suggestions, or announcements, please contact commspecialist@unityfortmill.org 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. 5

6 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 CHRISTMAS AUCTION Thanks to everyone who donated or bought things from the Christmas Auction. Thanks so much to the Men's ministry for the wonderful hot dog meal. Nearly $4000 was raised to be split evenly between the Fort Mill Care Center and the Nutrition Center! Thanks again!! MATCHING GIFTS Please remember Unity during your 2018 benefits enrollment process. Many employers will provide a matching gift through your payroll charity giving or onetime charitable gifts. FROM THE PASTOR The incarnation of God within human flesh in the birth of Jesus is a radical and scandalous claim by the New Testament and the Christian Church. After 2,000 years, that claim has been watered down because of its familiarity in Western thought and philosophy, because of its misappropriation by commercial interests, and because of its domestication by those uncomfortable with its message. Yet Christmas remains the story of the expansive, boundary-breaking, and unrelenting love of God for all humanity. It begins with a baby in a manger and flourishes in the ministry of Jesus as he welcomed and healed the outcast and broken, as he pursued justice and advocated on behalf of the oppressed, as he modeled compassion and reconciliation among all. It concludes in the political execution of a religious and social trouble-maker, but the end is not death but the triumph of love and truth and light and life....cont on back cover...

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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 page 6 Many in the church want to selectively focus on some limited aspect of Jesus and his ministry. Who doesn t like a baby? Who can object to words of comfort? The Jesus who engages troubled people, the Jesus who challenges social and political inequities, the Jesus who finds himself on the wrong side of the law while pursuing truth and justice and righteousness ~ this Jesus they want nothing to do with. And they insist the Christian Church should have nothing to do with such activity modeled by Jesus. In rejecting this part of Jesus, they reject the radical and scandalous claim of the New Testament about God s incarnation which embraces all. They limit the reach and scope of God s kingdom and the impact for good. The Presbyterian Church USA (the denomination to which Unity belongs) embraces the full and complete and continuing ministry of Jesus, and seeks to embody that ministry in our world. The Presbyterian Church does what it does, and says what it says, and practices what it practices, because of Jesus ~ his ministry and his message and his example as we have seen it reflected in the message and writings and lives of the early church. The Presbyterian Church responds with actions and words and theological understandings because of the Holy Spirit ~ the Spirit s directing, empowering, enlightening presence within God s people to do the work of Christ. On the basis of Jesus ministry and the Holy Spirit s leading, we unapologetically welcome those from any race and tribe, from every economic and cultural background, from all gender and sexual identifications, to be active disciples of Jesus Christ in the life of the church and as leaders and colleagues in ministry as we all follow Christ. We believe this properly reflects the love and grace of God to which the scriptures testify, that we have found true in Jesus, that the Holy Spirit directs the church to embody, and that faithfulness to God requires of us to do. I hope you, too, will again be engaged by the Christmas story of God s unrelenting love, and will reflect its life-changing embrace for one and all! 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