Ad Venire. The Pastor s Reflection on Advent

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1 December 2018 The Herald Standing Meetings, Groups & Programs St. Paul s United Methodist Church 2131 Palomino Drive Warrington, PA stpaulsumcwarrington.org Rev. Dr. Irving Cotto, Pastor Nancy Mongelli, Office Admin. Doug Tester, Organist/Choir Director Ray Washam, Handbell Choir Director Ad Venire The Pastor s Reflection on Advent My beloved brothers and sisters of St. Paul s, in the gospel of John it says, The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us (1:14). The Message, by Eugene Peterson, translates this verse in these words: The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood. Our Christian faith proclaims that God chose to share our daily existence as any other common and ordinary human being. This is what we call the incarnation, that is, God joining us in our daily struggles, and challenges as well as in our joys and victories. Yet, what was the ultimate purpose of this? To establish an intimate relationship with us. God came to us as a baby in Bethlehem. This baby s name was Jesus, which means Savior. Ever since that moment in history all men and women throughout the world have had an opportunity to experience God s unconditional love, forgiveness of sins, and the beginning of a new life. This baby, Jesus, grew up, started his public ministry, was opposed by many and eventually was placed on a cross. However, behind that awful event God had a plan: to offer a ransom and atonement for humanity s sin. It was the ultimate price to pay for you and me. Where does this all connect with the Season of Advent? Well, the Savior who came to us in Bethlehem has promised to come again, at the end of history. In addition, he has promised to come to us at every moment of worship, prayer, as well as when we serve others in need. So, there we have it. Advent calls us to wait, anticipate, and celebrate his presence. Similar to the Season of Lent this season invites us to a time a personal reflection and spiritual preparation. The Latin word for Advent is ad venire which means, to draw near, to approach, to come toward. Thus, Jesus is the Lord of Advent: the coming King. And Advent is a time of joyful expectation. In Lent we mourn the death of our Savior. But in Advent we anticipate the triumphant coming of our Savior. Let us then open our hearts to Jesus at each moment as we wait for his return in final victory (Matthew 18:20; Acts 1:11; Revelation 22:12-21). Our constant prayer should be: Come, Lord Jesus! Grace and peace, Pastor Cotto

2 What s St. Paul s... Standing Meetings, Groups & Programs Sunday s Adult Sunday School 9:15 am Worship 10:30 am Children s Sunday School 10:40 am Noisy Can Collection, the second Sunday of every month Next collection: December 9 Prayer postcards are available near the Prayer Book in the Sanctuary for you to send as a postcard to someone to let them know we have prayed for them in church. Monday s Trustees 7 9 pm/december 17/Library Tuesday s Church Council 7 9 pm/december 11/Cozens Wednesday s Women s Bible Study 1 pm/cozen Studying the Women of the Bible. 1st & 3rd Thursday s & Saturday s Food Pantry 6 8 pm Thursday/10 Noon Saturday Thursday s 6:30 pm Handbell Rehearsal/Sanctuary 7:30 pm Choir Rehearsal/Sanctuary Saturday s Men s Bible Study 8 10 am/cozens/1, 3 & 5 Saturday Women s Fellowship 9:30 11 am/cozens/4th Saturday Like us on Facebook St. Paul s UMC, Warrington

3 Will you join me at the table? It s on Wednesday, right at one, And we ll share a meal together As we get ready for the Son. You know, the baby Jesus Who came that very day, Now in this Advent Season We ll help prepare the way. To share our faith together And join in holiday song, A family lunch together How could we ever go wrong? Don t forget...in December Every Wednesday, right at one, We ll sit and eat together And by 2, we ll be all done. There is no charge for lunch The women love to cook We ll make your lunch for free that day Just come and have a look At how God prepares this time for us A time for joy and laughter. On each Wednesday in December You ll not regret it after! Advent is a time of preparation. We prepare for many different occasions in our lives, in many different ways. Advent is the season of getting ready to celebrate the arrival of the Messiah, the Promised Savior. All around the world, the season of Advent is recognized by various opportunities for preparation. Here at St. Paul's, we recognize the season of Advent with the need for fellowship with our church family. We do this with our annual Advent Lunch time together every Wednesday at 1 pm in the month of December. The actual dates? December 5, December 12 &19 at 1 pm. The Women's Bible Study is again providing the opportunity for you to join us at the table. Lunch will be provided, as well as an opportunity to give donations to those who need help, or to cover the cost of lunch. But, there is no obligation to bring anything other than yourself and a friend? We will serve at 1 pm...we look forward to seeing you there. Opportunities for pay it forward? Good ole cash to cover cost of food, or baby diapers (size 4-5) or toddler boys clothing (size 24 months) or fast food gift cards. Or...just bring yourself, nothing else required, and join us for a time together. Want to DO lunch? Join us for this time together. Won t you join me at the table, Lunch is ready right at one. If you will only join us God will bless us everyone! Marj Salmonsen

4 CODE BLUE and the NGA Project are joining together this year to help with the Doylestown Homeless Program. Code Blue will be receiving the gloves, hats, socks and scarves for the 2018 project. If you are not creative and would like to participate, now would be a good time to start checking out the Dollar Stores. We look forward to the combination of these two great programs working together. Look for the upcoming decorated Christmas Box in December to bring your merchandise in for the many in need. To volunteer for Code Blue visit: centralbuckscoldeblue.org Any questions, please contact Judy Anderson or Louise Zalucki Code Blue Update: The season for the shelter has begun, opening this weekend at Neshaminy Warwick Church. The homeless in our area, numbering 25+ right here in Central Bucks, depend on our help to get them safely through the Winter. These cold 13 degree nights can put people at risk for hypothermia and death. I just learned yesterday of 5 new homeless right in Doylestown, that we will be reaching out to, hoping to bring them into the shelter on these cold nights. Once again this year, for those of you who have asked, Bob and I will accept gift cards to help feed those at risk. We are asking for cards to any fast food place in this general area, as well as Wawa cards. Those who live in their cars can use the Wawa cards to buy gas. We have several people who work, and live in their cars. When it is very cold, the car must be turned on numerous times during the night to keep from getting too cold. Any value card will help someone less fortunate, so thank you. We can also accept winter coats, both men and women s. Homeless people cannot store their things from one season to the next, so they always need new (or slightly used) ones when it gets cold again. I gave a sleeping bag, that someone had given to me, to a homeless man, and he was so grateful. His sleeping bag had been soaked with all the rain, and the squirrels had chewed it. The bag I gave him was a used bag, no one in their family camping anymore, but it was as gold to him! Thank you for your generosity. Bob and Marj Salmonsen Caroling at Neshaminy Manor, Saturday, December 15 at 1:30 pm Christmas is the time for caroling! Neshaminy Manor has provided all of us at St. Paul s with an opportunity again this year. Everyone is welcome to participate, regardless of how well you sing. The residents are very appreciative; they really enjoy the music and singing...and even sing-along with us. We have the song books, the music and carol-related stories; and Beth Bechtold will be accompanying us on the piano. All we need is your presence. We especially need male voices. Please add your name to the sign-up sheet in the Narthex. Please contact Pat Nickett at with any questions.

5 Live Nativity: Sunday, December St. Paul s UMC St. Paul s UMC will be hosting a drive-thru Live Nativity on Sunday, December 23rd, 4-6 pm. Volunteer shepherds, Holy Family, angels and animals are needed. Volunteer shifts are 30 minutes long on our fairly warm manger-shaped front porch. Participating in the Live Nativity is a wonderful way for families to experience the Christmas Season in a very tangible way. Shorter shifts are possible for younger children. Sign up in the Narthex or Diane at diane_donaher@comcast.net. Live Nativity: Volunteers/Supplies Needed Characters! Sign-up in Narthex Hay bales: to be delivered and picked up the day of the event Install our Star: Volunteer who can climb a ladder onto the porch roof and install our star on December 23rd and take it down Luminary installation: volunteer to put out luminaries along front driveway prior to December 23rd at 4 pm. Luminary removal: volunteer to remove luminaires after Christmas If you can volunteer or supply any of these needed items, please Diane at diane_donaher@comcast.net Attention Puzzle lovers: The puzzle shelves in the library are now reflecting the season. All new, well mostly all, puzzles have been changed again, in order for you to have a holiday-related picture jigsaw to keep you in the Christmas mode. Happy Holiday s puzzling...marj

Take time to enjoy... Yes it s that busy time of year for many, balancing work & getting ready for the holidays. Try to take time to enjoy some simple pleasures of the season with your loved ones.

6 Take time to enjoy... Yes it s that busy time of year for many, balancing work & getting ready for the holidays. Try to take time to enjoy some simple pleasures of the season with your loved ones. Many of you started that already by helping to deck the halls of our church this past Tuesday! In December, other ways to relax & enjoy the spirit of the season with friends are: the Caroling at Neshaminy Manor on the 15th & then our Live Nativity on the 23rd. Please take time to de-stress & find the simple pleasures of the season. Remember Jesus is the reason for the Season!! God Bless you & your families this Christmas! Gwynne Bee - Parish Nurse We are looking for USHERS for our worship service, all are invited, please see John Zalucki if interested. VOLUNTEERS NEEDED, ONCE A MONTH... Nursery Care on Sundays Contact Judy Snyder: smoothsail@aol.com Food Pantry Drop-Off Thursday Evenings or Saturday Mornings Contact Judy Anderson: lehtegram1@gmail.com

Zalucki 11 Sharon Crawford, Bill Ford 31

7 Join us Christmas Eve Services Family Service at 5 pm & traditional Candlelight Service of Lessons and Carols at 10 pm. December Birthdays 9 Gwynne Bee, John Zalucki 11 Sharon Crawford, Bill Ford 31 Kathy Tucker St. John s UMC 820 Almshouse Road, Ivyland

St. Paul s Preschool News December 2018 Friends, like the song says, It s cold outside! So cold that we had a couple of snow days mixed into our busy month of November.

8 St. Paul s Preschool News December 2018 Friends, like the song says, It s cold outside! So cold that we had a couple of snow days mixed into our busy month of November. We even had to delay our feasts a few days so that everyone could join in the fun. The Panda Bears came to the Thanksgiving Feast just to sing and dance with the other children. They had made feathers for their backs like a turkey and a headband with a turkey s face on it. They were so adorable!! It was so sweet hearing about everything my friends were thankful for along with seeing their written blessings on the leaves by the huge turkey in the hallway. Most of our families wrote about being thankful for health, each other, and their pets. I must admit that the cutest leaves had little pictures on them because the children weren t able to write. We had 12 turkeys thanks to Shrager Chiropractic and our families for their generous donations along with $75 in shopping gift cards that were given out to some of our families who are in need. Now, crazy as it may seem, we are getting ready for December. December means decking the halls with, boughs of holly. I absolutely love this month! The smells, laughter, singing, praying and family gatherings bring tears to my eyes. The hallways are decorated with beautiful stars to light our way for the Angel Breakfast and other festivities. The Breakfast is held on December 1st. The Men s Bible Study group help prepare us for the coming of Jesus birthday. They cook yummy pancakes and meat for my friends bellies. At the breakfast my little friends will get to hear the Christmas story and see it acted out. Pastor Cotto will even be there to share the day with us. The children will also be able to make wonderful angel crafts that they can bring home. Once they take their family pictures by the pretty fireplace, they will head home full of the Christmas spirit! Once again, the Preschool lobby is decorated for the festivities. The beautiful Christmas tree is transformed into our very own giving tree. There are tags for children and families from our Preschool Center and the Casa Del Pueblo community. Please feel free to take a tag, place the item in a bag with the tag tapped to it. This will assure that the perfect present is matched with the correct child. We are also collecting warm and snuggly pajamas and slightly worn to brand new coats for our families that are in need. On December 3rd and 4th the Preschool has their Family Carol Sing & Christmas Story. All of my friends & their families will open up their listening ears to hear the story, Quintillius: The star that shone, being told by Pastor Cotto. Mrs. Ashman, our Music Teacher, will then lead us in singing beautifully to some of our favorites, Frosty the Snowman, This Little Light of Mine, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. I can t wait to hear the excitement in their voices! Please don t forget that December 14th is the Extended Hours Christmas Show. My friends will share songs and re-enact the Nativity story. Some of the songs will include Rudolph and their favorite man in a red suit, Santa. December is filled with some fun for my older friends as well. December 4th is our Warrington Pizza Fundraiser Night, December 6th is our Mom s Group and at night is the Staff & Board Christmas party. Please don t forget that we will close at 1:00 PM on December 24th and 31st. By the end of the month, all of the wish-lists will be completed, the Pre-K children will have had chapel with Pastor Cotto, Christmas school parties will be celebrated and the waiting for Santa will be anticipated. I d like to wish all of you and your families a warm, cozy and blessed Christmas holiday. Paul E. Bear

Sunday s. Adult Sunday School 9:15 am Worship 10:30 am Children s Sunday School 10:40 am

Sunday s. Adult Sunday School 9:15 am Worship 10:30 am Children s Sunday School 10:40 am The Herald October 2018 The Herald St. Paul s United Methodist Church 2131 Palomino Drive Warrington, PA 215.343.0230 stpaulsumcwarrington.org Rev. Dr. Irving Cotto, Pastor Nancy Mongelli, Office Admin.