Faith Witness. Advent Christmas Season 201. December Vol Faith United Methodist church Monthly Newsletter December 2015

Transcription

1 FAITH UNITED METHODIST CHURCH 3600 J Street Sacramento, CA Phone (916) ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED Non-Profit Organization U.S. Postage PAID Permit #635 Sacramento, CA Faith Witness We, as disciples of Jesus Christ, live by faith to worship and witness for Jesus through Christian love, fellowship and service. Vol Faith United Methodist church Monthly Newsletter Advent Christmas Season 201 TIME DATED MATERIALS ATTENDANCE ARE YOU MOVING? BE SURE TO LET US KNOW September 2015 Report Church Finances -Attendance September Receipts $ 9, Total Sept Expenses 13, Jan-Sept Envelope Giving $37, Jan-Sept Envelope Projection 51, October Average Worship Attendance: 11 am Worship 35 persons 1 pm Worship 16 persons Total Sept Average 51 persons Collection Drive: Mittens, Socks Caps for all Ages Nov 15 Dec 13 Nativity and Angel Display December 13 following worship in Albright Hall sponsored by Elizabeth Circle. Christmas Eve Worship 6pm Begin your Christmas worship at the Christmas Eve service a service of Scripture and Song Christmas Caroling Saturday-Dec. 19 Soup Supper at 5pm followed with caroling returning to the church for hot chocolate and cookies! Christmas Celebration Sunday December 20-11am Special music by Handbell Ensemble and Chancel Choir

2 Please remember those listed below in your prayers 1. Carol Saylor continuing prayer for encouragement and strength 2. Betty Chinn...encouragement and peace 3. Jim & Joan Miller continuing prayers for healing and strength 4. Mary Miller encouragement, strength 5. Sue Wilcox strength, encouragement 6. Kay Connell strength, encouragement and peace 7. Beth Sawyer Family as they grieve the death of Beth s sister, Jinny 7. Faith s Congregation new ideas and commitment to a Faith Church Revival 8. Rev. Barbara as she encourages and leads all of us to a deeper commitment in and to our Christian journey A number of members of the Faith family are not able to attend worship. Please remember them in your prayers: Betty Chinn, Kay Connell, Mary Dess Joan & Jim Miller, Mary Miller Ron and Carol Saylor, Sue Wilcox Monthly Prayera-Thon Monday, December am 11:59 pm God s Love Story The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners; to proclaim the year of the LORD s favor. Isaiah 61:1-2a The prophecy above is found in Isaiah, about 700 years before the time of Jesus; who would later repeat those same words claiming them to be fulfilled in his reading. As we look at the Bible as a whole, what we see is a beautiful love story between God and His people. A love story about a faithful God who loved all that He created, especially the humans made in His image. It a story of love we can only imagine; but, never fully understand, even by those of us who are parents... Note from Financial Secretary Dear Faith Family, As we are now in the final quarter of 2015, I would like to remind you that for contributions to be included in your 2015 statement from the church, those contributions must be received in the church office by December 31, 2015, or postmarked before January 1, Sandeep Pedditi ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Remember to come to the church on Saturday, December 19 at 5 pm for soup supper and caroling AND on Christmas Eve at 6 pm For reliving the Christmas story in Scripture and Song. The Advent-Christmas season is here. It is Faith Church s custom to invite the congregation to decorate the Chancel and Sanctuary for Christmas with poinsettias. If you would like Evelyn Korb (our Altar Guild Chair) to purchase your poinsettia(s) for you, you need to let her know at You will also need to inform the church office of your dedication information if you plan for your poinsettia to be placed in honor or in memory of someone. Remember to fill out the order blank on a Sunday morning and place it in the offering plate. The order blanks will be placed in the Sunday bulletin folder beginning November 29, the first Sunday of Advent. Thank you. (continued on the next page)

3 Advent Scriptures Read these ahead of time so that you are prepared for worship Advent Season Begins Nov 29, st Sunday of Advent Isaiah 11:1-10, Romans 5:1-5 The Light of Hope Dec 6, nd Sunday of Advent Dec 13, rd Sunday of Advent Dec 20, th Sunday of Advent Dec 27, 2015-First Sunday after Christmas Lay Servants Faith s New Lay Servants Faith Church is proud to announce that we have three new Lay Servants: Emeline (Lena) Niumataiwalu, Salote Vakatawa, and Ofa Waqbaca. Both Lena and Ofa requested to continue on in This was approved at our Charge Conference on November 8 th ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nativity Display - December 13 following worship in Albright Hall sponsored by Elizabeth Circle. The Church family is invited to share nativity sets with everyone. Included in your display can be Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus, angels, shepherds, wise men, etc. items of religious significance to Christmas. Arrive early so the Elizabeth Circle Committee will have time to arrange the display. God s Love Story Continued from previous page... a love so deep and pure that God would come to earth in the person of Jesus, so that He would know what it is like to live as a human. A love so unfathomable, that he would give His life a ransom in exchange for us all, to set us free. Those of us with a deep and intimate relationship with Jesus, with God, can see with the eyes of our heart who this amazing God really is. Our spirits melt into the Spirit of God within, and we become one. We celebrate the coming of the Christ Child year after year, with the awesome wonder, as only a child can. We feel the love within, born anew every year; and we know, as we kneel in the presence of God, Jesus was born for us. Like the shepherds who heard the angels sing and ran to see where the Messiah lay; we, too, run with great anticipation to the place where God s gift lies for us. So tiny and fragile he lies in his mother s arms. Oh, to get a glimpse of the face of God and feel his tiny fingers wrap around ours. Oh, baby Jesus, we have waited so long for your coming! God has heard our pleas and our cries for help; but, how can it be? How can it be that you will save us? Each year we celebrate so that the true meaning of Christmas will come alive in our hearts. The tiny baby Jesus gets covered up with all the lights and the decorations, the Santa Clauses and Snowmen, the busyness of the season, and all the things we do during this time of the year in our materialistic society. It is so easy to forget why we celebrate Christmas. Growing up, we celebrated Christmas, even as Buddhists. But, I will always remember that Christmas card that we received so many years ago a Christmas card of a nativity scene. As a small child I knew that was what Christmas was all about (after all I learned about it in preschool) all about LOVE - the love God came to give us. The love God continues to give us each and every day. His love experienced in the warm embrace surrounding us with the comfort and peace that only He can give. This Christmas, may you experience God in a new and profound way. Through reading the Bible, through prayer, through attending worship, especially our Christmas Eve Service, grow ever so deeper in your relationship with God. May you know the love God has for you; and may your spirit be enveloped by the warmth of God s love this Christmas and always. God bless your celebrations with family and friends; but, take a moment each day to remember Jesus and thank him for coming into your midst and being your Lord and Savior. Blessings, Rev. Barbara

4 1- Craig Granum 4- Jessica Forte 6- Sue Wilcox 8- Ella Capi Malekian 10- John Thompson 12- Evelyn Korg 13- Carol Saylor Barbara Young 14- Christina Malekian Alayna Gerstel 15- Mitchell Malekian Don Scarberry 16- Nora Gurevich Pasimaca Sigalima 19- Keiko Sexton 24- Jason Ewing Michelle Howard-Jones 26- Elaine Pollock 28- Lina Niuemataiwalu To those with a birthday in December

5 Dear Faith Church Family, The season of Advent and Christmas is here. This brings us to the conclusion of another year: This gives us cause to pause to reflect on those events in our lives that brought sorrow and those that brought joy to our hearts. We also have cause to pause and reflect on the celebration of Thanksgiving and our offerings of thanksgiving to God for His many blessings to each of us. As we ponder the coming events of Advent and Christmas we think anew of the promise of Hope and Salvation that God has given to each of us in the birth of his Son. We will celebrate with the singing of beloved carols; hear the beloved Scripture;, displaying Nativity set;, and coming together in worship to give glory to God. The church family traditionally gathers a love offering for our pastor. We invite you to again participate in a Christmas love gift for Rev. Barbara at this special time of year by contributing a monetary gift to be presented to Rev. Barbara on Sunday, December 20. If you wish to participate in this gift, please hand your gift to a member of the Staff Parish Relations Committee listed below by Sunday, December 15. Charles Kale Lina Niumataiwalu Leonard Schmidt Lila Korvink Watisoni Qereqeretabua Ofa Waqabaca Staff parish Relations Committee Charles Kale, Chair Dear Faith Church Family, The season of Advent and Christmas is here. This brings us to the conclusion of another year: This gives us cause to pause to reflect on those events in our lives that brought sorrow and those that brought joy to our hearts. We also have cause to pause and reflect on the celebration of Thanksgiving and our offerings of thanksgiving to God for His many blessings to each of us. As we ponder the coming events of Advent and Christmas we think anew of the promise of Hope and Salvation that God has given to each of us in the birth of his Son. We will celebrate with the singing of beloved carols; hear the beloved Scripture;, displaying Nativity set;, and coming together in worship to give glory to God. The church family traditionally gathers a love offering for our pastor. We invite you to again participate in a Christmas love gift for Rev. Barbara at this special time of year by contributing a monetary gift to be presented to Rev. Barbara on Sunday, December 20. If you wish to participate in this gift, please hand your gift to a member of the Staff Parish Relations Committee listed below by Sunday, December 15. Charles Kale Lina Niumataiwalu Leonard Schmidt Lila Korvink Watisoni Qereqeretabua Ofa Waqabaca Staff parish Relations Committee Charles Kale, Chair