COMMUNITY UNITED METHODIST CHURCH. Sundays

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1 COMMUNITY UNITED METHODIST CHURCH Community s LINK - January, 2019 Sundays 8:30 a.m. - Traditional Worship in the Chapel 9:30 a.m. - Sunday School and Bible Study 10:30 a.m. - Blended Worship in the Sanctuary 7:30-10 a.m. - Breakfast in C L Hilson Hall Pastor Dan Baker In Christian tradition, the 12 days of Christmas is a holy time of celebration. The period begins Christmas Day and concludes Jan. 6 with Epiphany. Many historians believe the well-known song, The Twelve Days of Christmas, is actually a Christian hymn in disguise. During the reign of England s Queen Elizabeth I, a staunch Protestant, English Catholics were oppressed and persecuted. A clever priest found a unique way of teaching the Gospel to children. He hid biblical truth in the symbols used in his carol. On the First Day of Christmas my True Love Gave to Me (True Love refers to God the Father and Me represents the Christian who received the gift.) A Partridge in a Pear Tree. (Mother Partridges feign injury to predators to protect their babies.) Two Turtle Doves Old and New Testaments. Three French Hens Faith, Hope, and Love. Four Calling Birds the 4 Gospels. Five Golden Rings the First 5 books of the Bible, the Pentateuch. Six Geese a-laying the 6 Days of Creation. Seven Swans a-swimming the 7 Gifts of the Holy Spirit. Eight Maids a-milking the 8 Beatitudes in Matthew Chapter 5. Nine Ladies Dancing 9 Choirs of Angels. Ten Lords a -Leaping the 10 Commandments. Eleven Pipers Piping the 11 Faithful Apostles. Twelve Drummers Drumming the 12 Articles of the Apostles Creed. EPIPHANY, January 6, is commonly known as Three Kings Day in the United States. It celebrates the Three Wise Men s visit to Baby Jesus and also remembers his Baptism, according to Christian Bible events. Much as Christmas is a day and season in the lectionary calendar, so is Epiphany. The Season of Epiphany continues until Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent, leading into the Season of Easter.

2 We will Un-Decorate the Sanctuary and Chapel on Sunday, January 6 after Worship and a quick lunch. This will be around 1 pm. Thanks for coming to assist. See Jean Hall for more information. Book Buddy Ministry A Ministry of Help I DO BELIEVE SOMETHING VERY MAGICAL CAN HAPPEN WHEN YOU READ A GOOD BOOK. J.K. ROWLING Helpers Are Needed Helpers are ALWAYS needed for the Book Buddy Ministry which is an outreach program to provide the preschool children of our church with books for their classrooms and their homes books that instill Godly values and nourish children spiritually. Helpers are responsible for providing four books during the school year. For more information, please contact me at (772) Thank you. This month one new person became a helper!!! Just a reminder to look for your letters the first Sunday of February for the March Preschool Distribution. Thank you again for your continued support. God Bless!!! Respectively, Carole Ratliff, Book Buddy Coordinator Wishing all a very Happy and Healthy New Year! DID YOU KNOW? The Madison Youth Ranch was opened in 2014 and offers children a rural, country setting in which they can roam, play, and heal. One of the outstanding programs at the Youth Ranch is the Equine Assisted Psychotherapy (EAP) program with the assistance of Pinky and Sugar, our resident horses. The EAP program helps children develop healthy relationships and a strong work ethic, as well as overcome fears, build teamwork, and much more. A child s responses to the horses can also provide excellent insight into the child s opinions of self and of others, especially authority figures. In May of this year, the Youth Ranch dedicated the Margaret R. Scully Aquatic Center, featuring a pool for the children to enjoy on those hot summer days. Ground was also broken on two new buildings, the Chapel and the Counseling and Support Services Center. The children now attend a local U M Church. The Counseling and Support Services Center will provide the necessary space for our therapist to meet with and treat the children, including individual and group sessions. The building will also provide space for tutoring, a clinic, group meeting room, and a tornado safe room in case of inclement weather.

3 HANDS FOR THE LORD PUPPETS What a glorious time it was for our puppet team to spend the Christmas Season spreading cheer with puppets. We performed dowel rod routines on Sundays during Advent. Thank you to Bob Young for singing the Christmas songs for these routines. Also, we were blessed to be able to perform our Christmas Musical Good News, Great Joy! twice on Saturday, Dec. 1 st, once at Lynmoore Assisted Living and then in our CUMC sanctuary. We served a country barbeque dinner and ended the evening with Birthday Cake for Happy Birthday Jesus!. The program was well attended and included our Children s Church kids and our Praise Team too. Thank you to all those who helped with costumes, props, set up, rehearsal, kitchen serving and clean up. We love and appreciate you. It s that time of the year for Cuban Sandwiches! February 3rd, on Super Bowl Sunday, you may pick up your pre-ordered Sandwiches after the 10:30 church service. Donations for Cuban sandwiches is $5.00 each. Ordering information will be in the Sunday bulletins. Thank you for your support. Saturday Jan. 5 Sunday Jan. 6 Sunday Jan. 13 Sunday Jan. 20 Sunday Jan. 27 Happy New Year! Holiday Puppet Party 11:00-2:30 pm Puppet Planning Meeting Puppet Practice 1:00-3:00 pm Puppet Practice 1:00-3:00 pm Puppet Practice 1:00-3:00 pm LADIES ON A MISSION The Ladies were back in full force at our December 5 meeting. Gail and Eleanor were busy getting Pew Bears ready for adoption. Several bears were then placed in both the Sanctuary and the Chapel. If you or someone you know needs a little extra reminder of God s love, please take a Pew Bear home with you. Valerie and Gladys stuffed dogs and bears for the children at Lawnwood. These cute cuddly critters are always welcomed by Nurse Jennifer. Another mat was delivered to the FPPD. As the weather gets cooler, Officer Maldonado says the need grows for mats and hygiene packs. We wish you and yours a blessed Christmas and a New Year filled with health and happiness. We will next meet on Wednesday, January 2, to kick off another year of ministry. Remember that no experience of ANY kind is necessary to join our group-we always have something that you can do! As always, we are grateful for your donations and your prayers. Thank You and God Bless! Your response to the sock and underwear collection for Hope s Closet 4 Children was AMAZING! Items are still coming in. I ll count them all and report in next month s LINK. Thank you for your generosity.

4 Christmas Angels at Community! Thank you to the bigger angels who made a smaller angel so happy at Christmas Time. We had 21 angels on the tree. The ages were stroller to high school. We love them all. Thanks again for sharing your resources and heart with a younger friend. GOSPEL GARDENER When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers - the moon and the stars you set in place - what are mere mortals that you should think about them, human beings that you should care for them? Psalm 8:3-4 God, we thank you for this New Year. Help each of us to put you first in our heart, lives, time, commitment. It is a fresh new year of welcoming new families to our church. Thank you for this opportunity to share our love with others. So much is going on in your garden. Last weekend I did it! I really did it. Took my weed-eater to the garden and trimmed back all the tall grasses. Trimmed back the Ixora. Heard the wind chimes singing in the breeze. Noticed a cute little tomato plant sitting in the garden. Thanks Vicki. I work in the garden on Saturdays. Vicki comes on Wednesday. It s fun to look around and see what Vicki did - and maybe she looks at what I do. So appreciative of any and all help we get in the garden. Those decorative flags look so pretty. Busy bees flittering all around. We have an abundance of blooms. Porter-weeds, plumbago, phlox and beach daisy, and two new Allamanda plants. Getting so much general weeding done. The next area to clean up is the Sanctuary garden. Those macho ferns have just taken over. We have a Podocarpus in that area. I want to give it some room. Also found a hidden Poinsettia. It has really been in a neglected section, and I want to give it some attention. So this is a good place to begin. I may be calling YOU for some help. Again, I invite you all to drop by the garden. It is uplifting. So much going on. God Bless - and Happy New Year. Points to Ponder Every man s life is a fairy-tale written by God s fingers. Hans Christian Anderson It was the winter wild, while the Heav n born child, All meanly wrapt in the rude manger lies; ( On the Morning of Christ s Nativity by John Milton) Do the best you can. and leave the outcome to God. The way to be happy is to make others happy. I would like to thank everyone for their prayers and concern for me. A special thank you to all who transport me to church and assist me in so many ways. I truly appreciate it. Thanks so much. Peg Welker

5 It was a fun delivery to Fairlawn Elementary, our neighborhood school. We were asked to assist three families. You all provided food and money for gifts for 3 young girls and 1 older brother. We took 3 boxes of food, and a goodie basket for each family with chocolate-covered pretzels and items to make s mores, popcorn, and hot chocolate. $20 for milk and fresh items was also included. Each child also got an outfit, white socks, fun socks, and 2 games. The Sheriff s Department provided another game for each. When the Sheriff s Department called back about having 2 bicycles and helmets and numerous other games and toys, Fairlawn said a family of 6 girls had an emergency and could use assistance. A wonderful assortment of balls, games, and toys was taken for them. A special thanks to all who donated food and money; thanks to Sue and Roland Hall who helped sort items, and to John Young who picked up and delivered the bicycles. Thanks for sharing your love. Patty and Rick Surface YOUTH CALENDAR January 3 Youth Meeting, 6:30-8:00 pm January 10 Youth Meeting, 6:30-8:00 pm January 17 Youth Meeting, 6:30-8:00 pm January 24 Youth Meeting, 6:30-8:00 pm January 30 UnAltered youth event, Westside Church, 7:00-9:00 pm January 31 Youth Meeting, 6:30-8:00 pm What s In Store for 2019? Happy New Year! The youth ministry is hard at work on new experiences for our students! This month we will join with other youth groups from around the area for a night of worship and learning at the UnAltered youth event being held at Westside Church (3361 S Jenkins Road, Ft Pierce). We are also planning a local winter retreat for February, and a special dinner for our youth stock holders. In late June (only six months away) the youth ministry is headed to the panhandle of Florida on a mission trip. Our students will join with other youth groups from around the country to help the people in northwest Florida. The mission camp is organized by TeamEffort a national mission organization that started in St. Petersburg, Florida about 20 years ago. All youth in grades 6-12 are invited to be a part of our youth ministry. It doesn t matter what church they attend, or if they attend church at all. We meet every Thursday in January, 6:30-8:00 pm, in the church social hall. Great things are happening in 2019! Your Servant in Christ, Mark

6 JANUARY FLOWER MINISTERS 6 - Valerie Banks 13 - Nancy Calkin 20 - Rob & Cleo Robinson 27 - Jan Raasch Flower Ministers: PLEASE or call Sylvia/Church Secretary a follow-up report for flower deliveries. Thank you. Nancy Calkin/Flower Ministry Coordinator RECYCLING: The Church continues to collect aluminum. Nancy Calkin, with Rob Robinson assisting, deliver the aluminum to the recycling facility, on Tuesdays if there is a sufficient amount. Thank you. Nancy COMMUNITY s NEWSLETTER Thanks for submitting items for the LINK by Wednesday, January 23 by ing them to surfacep@msn.com. We ll fold it on Wednesday the 30 th at 10 a.m. Thanks. Patty Surface (772) PRAISE TEAM PRACTICE Thursdays at 7:15 p.m. in the Sanctuary. Please join us. FREEE BREAKFAST/COFFEE HOUR Paul, assisted by many others, is cooking a hot breakfast Sunday mornings. It is served from 7:30 to 10:00 a.m. Come and enjoy food and fellowship. Community United Methodist Church 3114 Okeechobee Road Fort Pierce, Florida Phone (772) ; FAX (772) Church cumc_ch@bellsouth.net Church Website: Pastor s bannerdan01@comcast.net Pastor s Cell: (772) Please call the CHURCH OFFICE at if you would like to donate flowers ($40) in honor or memory of a special person(s) or event. 55+ MEMORIAL LUNCHEON Wednesday, January 9 at Noon We will remember our friends who passed in Bring a friend, a story, and a dish to share. FOOD/FELLOWSHIP/FUN. Church Women United 10 a.m. Tuesday, Jan 15 1 st United Methodist in Ft Pierce. See Patty for details. The Administrative Council meets Monday, January 28 at 6 pm. Chair people, Ministry Leaders, ALL are welcome. CHURCH NURSERY is available at 10 a.m. to Noon each Sunday for children under 4 years of age. Church Office Hours: Monday through Thursday 9:00 a.m. 1:00 p.m. Preschool Director: Mrs. Carol Hilson Weekdays 7:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. Phone: (772) cumcpreschool@bellsouth.net