The Messenger. Join the Journey To Christmas. Sunday, November 29. Sunday, December 6. Saturday, December 12. Sunday, December 13. Friday, December 18

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1 The Messenger December 2015 Sunday, November 29 Sunday, December 6 Saturday, December 12 Sunday, December 13 Friday, December 18 1st Sunday of Advent, 8:45 and 11 am worship 2nd Sunday of Advent, 8:45 and 11 am worship Alternative Christmas Market 12:15 pm Fellowship Hall Nativity in a Box at 11:00 am 1:00 pm Fellowship Hall 3rd Sunday in Advent, 8:45 and 11 am worship Preschool Christmas Program, 10:30 am in the Sanctuary Sunday, December 20 Last Sunday of Advent, 8:45 and 11 am worship Thursday, December 24 Family Friendly Christmas Eve Worship at 4 pm Friday, December 25 Merry Christmas! Join the Journey To Christmas

2 Our Church Family: James & Marti Bennett; Marian Clark; Todd Howard; Kevin Hughes; Freshwater family; Peter Klem; Penny Lore; Emma Jean Phelps; Dean Porterfield; Irene Webb; Ernie Wendell; Wendell Family; our college students; preschool families and teachers Friends and Family: Howell Brown III, Frank Black; Wanda Brame; Philip Browning; Family of William Campbell.; Alfred Coats; Megan Condry; Dusty; Fogle Family; Judge Carl Fox; Frank Garmon; Ann Marie Good; Ann Gunter; Marianne Hardison; Dr. Fred Heinzel; Eva Elsie King; June King; Ruth King; Luther King; Bobby Korbin; Robert Liertz; Rod Mabry; Grady McCutcheon; Donald McFarland; Jeff Park; George Paulides and family; Louis Rivers; Family of Willie Sander; Carl Schmidt; Parker, Melissa & Gene Schumacher; Jan Stutts; Randy Taylor; Laura Turkel; Diane Vasilas; Taylor Wagner; Terry Wendell; the unemployed and their families; the victims of violence; travel mercies; Residents and staff at C.A. Dillon; Christian Believer Bible study group; Christians being persecuted; our armed forces and military Care Facilities: Mary Berini (Hillcrest); Cordelia Blalock (Emerald Pond); Cleo Fox (Emerald Pond), Sadie Micol (Brookshire), Mildred Neal (Croasdaile Village), Cathy Young December Committee Meetings Church Council Tues, December 6:30 (FH) SPRC Tues, December 6:30 pm (FH) Trustees Tues, December 6:30 pm (FH)

3 Friday, Dec 11 Lunch at 12:00 pm at Croasdaile. $7 per person. Please RSVP and pay Anggie in the church office by December 6 Primetimers Exercise at 10:30 am Monday & Wednesdays in Fellowship Hall To receive more information about a Primetimers program or to sign up for the trip, please contact Jim Lore at or Anggie in the church office Sunday, December 13 8:00 am All are welcome! Brunswick Stew We still have plenty of stew and BBQ left over Stew $7.50 per quart BBQ $18 for 2 pounds

4 Young People in Mission Brothers and sisters in Christ, I m pleased to share that we have many young people at work for Jesus in our midst. While you may not see many on a typical Sunday morning, the kingdom of God is growing and making an impact. Our young adult group began meeting weekly on June 29 and since then we ve typically had 5-8 on any particular Monday night with a total of 16 people involved at different times. What a joy it will be when we are all able to be together at the same time! Such is the nature of 20 & 30 somethings with so many newly forming demands, particularly those in school and/or beginning young families and/or establishing a career. We recently completed studying the book Christmas is Not Your Birthday by UMC Pastor Mike Slaughter. This was done well before Advent quite intentionally so that we had the proper time if we were feeling led to change some of our standard Christmas spending and gift-giving patterns we could do so. With that in mind we were led to some mission outreach projects as a group. Paul writes in Romans 12:4-5 For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members of one another. Therefore our young adult group would like to invite all of you as the body into the following mission outreach projects with us: 1) The first is a simple, yet profound, act of kindness. We are writing letters to people imprisoned solely because of their Christian faith. Through Prison Alert, a ministry of the Voice of the Martyrs, we have the ability to learn some about how a fellow believer became imprisoned and have a letter translated into their native language. On the website it states, In more than 40 nations around the world today Christians are being persecuted for their faith. In some of these nations it is illegal to own a Bible, to share your faith Christ, change your faith or teach your children about Jesus. For more information: 2) The other mission outreach project we are focusing on is the Seed Potato Project through the Society of St. Andrew. Through this project poor families in the Appalachia receive seed potatoes and guidance on how to properly prepare, plant, cultivate, and harvest the crop. This is a loaves and fish type of food growth! By taking a smaller portion of an edible food and proper time for growth the amount of food is multiplied, thus providing much more sustenance than the small amount of seed potatoes would have provided on their own. This project involves a monetary donation of any amount, if you would like to contribute along with our young adult group you can make your donation to McMannen UMC with a note for Seed Potato Project. For a little information on the project: Through our Youth Group our teens are also involved in outreach. In October we spend one of our youth group meetings playing bingo at Carillon Assisted Living on Garrett Road. Carillon is a facility that provides care for those dealing with dementia and Alzheimer s issues. On Thanksgiving Eve, we hosted a meal for international students and their families from Duke that are connected with us through ISI (International Students Inc.) and our preschool. We prepared, served, and shared together a "Traditional American Thanksgiving meal in a joint effort of our youth and their families. This was a wonderful opportunity for service and fellowship and a true example of how we can be in relationship with "strangers." Loving God. Loving Neighbor. It is really that simple. Yet it is that challenging as well. May God guide us as we seek to live into this mission! Grace & Peace, Pastor Calvin

5 McMannen Preschool is participating in the Labels for Education program again, this year. We are trying to collect enough labels to purchase a second butterfly garden by the spring so we can watch the caterpillars turn into chrysalises, emerge as butterflies and then release them into the community. Each butterfly garden is 1,500 points, so we really need your help. Labels can be dropped off in the big red box outside of the church office or in Jackie's mailbox. Cookie bakers are needed prior to this event. If you are willing and able to make cookies, please contact Jackie to get the cookie cutters.

6 The Alternative Christmas Market will be held on Sunday, December 6, at 12:15pm in the Fellowship Hall. The goal of the Alternative Christmas Market is to provide an opportunity this holiday season to give gifts that have far-reaching, hope-building results. Please keep in mind that you may choose to give a gift in honor of someone you love that will change the life of someone in need. We hope you ll plan to support these important programs: McMannen Preschool McMannen Servants at Work (SAW) Interfaith Hospitality Network Camp Chestnut Ridge Habitat for Humanity Heifer Project International Please consider giving the gift of hope this holiday season because Hope is a very precious gift! Children K-5 are invited to the McMannen Fellowship Hall each Thursday evening from 6:30 8 PM thru December 17 Every Thursday we will experience the wonder and adventure of the Master Builder through the Bible. We will build our faith brick by brick. Contact Jackie at jackieb@mcmannenumc.org with any questions, to donate items or to volunteer to help

7 Visit our website to pay tuition or donate to the scholarship fund online! Mcmannenumc.org Currently enrolling! Spaces available in all classes. See Jackie for applications for need-based scholarships. Tuesday, December 22 7:00 pm McMannen Sanctuary Thursdays 2:00 pm Croasdaile All are welcome! Lead by Pastor Ed Call Anggie in the church office for the address For some, the holiday season is full of warm memories and family gatherings. For some, it feels quite the opposite. Many are experiencing hurt, grief, pain, loss and more. The Longest Night worship service is intended to be an intentional time for lament and mourning alongside brothers and sisters in Christ as we await the blessing of the birth of Jesus.

8 Preschool Christmas Program Friday, December 18 10:30 AM in the Sanctuary The McMannen Preschoolers invite the McMannen family to please come and join our li lest worship leaders as they share about the night Jesus was born and their discovery that Jesus came to earth to be their friend a friend who will love them no ma er what their "best-est" friend. Friday, December 18 at 7:00 pm McMannen Fellowship Hall Join us for A family friendly movie with free snacks!

9 The following verses from the Bible are the first verses to be read this year on November 29, on the first Sunday of the church year, in the church season of Advent. These words are found in the book of the prophet Jeremiah, chapter 33: " 'The days are coming,' declares the LORD, 'when I will fulfill the gracious promise I made. In those days and at that time I will make a righteous [leader]; he will do what is just and right in the land. In those days [the nation] will be saved and [the city] will live in safety. As I studied these verses, I saw the verses that preceded it in the same chapter: For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says about the houses in this city and the royal palaces of Judah that have been torn down to be used against the sword. What could be more timely? It was really bad for God s people back then. They were tearing down houses to build defenses against an invading army. I suppose you could say (along with billions who populate today s world) that we too are afraid; that it s really bad now too. I am concerned about our safety. It s a concern that isn t solved by one presidency or one party s ideas, or even one country s dominance in the global community. It s not solved by the size of a military budget, or the number of police on the street, or even how many people go to church. The fears of the people of Israel 2500 years ago are the fears we continue to feel. In its essence, human nature hasn t changed: although we no longer use the same technology for war and killing, we still live with fear. We are waiting for this prophecy to come true: for the nation to be saved and the cities to dwell in safety. While it s true that Israel was able to return to its homeland after a time of exile, it is also true that Israel s people are still awaiting Messiah. Christianity has become the largest religion on the planet, but we are still waiting for the One who we call Messiah to return, and for the fullness of this promise to be realized. Our waiting is not an idle waiting. While we wait, we live and work to remain ready for that day. We believe that the day will come, and such belief is rooted in our faith, and faith becomes real when it is lived out in obedience to Jesus direction for us. That direction is to stay vigilant, and in essence, to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love our neighbor as ourselves; it is to love justice and practice mercy; it is to invite the children to come to Jesus, and not to hinder them; it is to give praise to God because the kingdom is at hand; it is to ask that God s will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. May all God s children be saved. May we receive what we await: God s kingdom among us; God s safety keeping us. May Peace Prevail on Earth. Pastor Ed

10 Download our calendar information: A file can be downloaded and imported into any calendar program that will let you import a commadelimited text file. Most calendaring software, like Outlook, Lotus, etc. has this feature built right in. Simply click the ICAL symbol on the calendar (bottom left corner) on our mcmannenumc.org website to download it to your hard drive. Then open your calendar software and import it. Please always refer to the calendar on the McMannen website for the most up-todate informa on.

11 4102 Neal Road Durham, NC Fax: Church Office Hours: Monday-Friday: 9 am - 1 pm Sunday Mornings 8:45 am - Worship (in Neal Chapel) 10 am - Sunday School 11:00 am - Worship (in the Sanctuary) Come and Worship! D eadline for the next newsletter, The Messenger, is Monday, December 21 9 am for all events through January. Staff Ed Priestaf, Pastor pastored@mcmannenumc.org Calvin Dickenson Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministries & Outreach calvind@mcmannenumc.org Jackie Bolen Director of Children s Outreach and Ministries jackieb@mcmannenumc.org Anggie Thompson Office Administrator anggiet@mcmannenumc.org John Benton Director of Music Ministries johnb@mcmannenumc.org Floalice Reaves Organist Mission: To proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ to the world and to live it out in loving witness to whomever we meet with the purpose of changing hearts and strengthening the community of believers.