THE CHIMES GOD KNOWS EVERYTHING, BUT WE DON T. ADVENT KICK OFF DECEMBER 2 BAD AXE FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

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1 DECEMBER 2018 BAD AXE FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH THE CHIMES Come, thou long expected Jesus, born to set thy people free CHARLES WESLEY GOD KNOWS EVERYTHING, BUT WE DON T. Your church likes to support you, especially during possible turning points in your life. Since these often involve a stay in the hospital, please be sure to call, or have someone call, the church office ( ) or the parsonage ( ) to let us know about you. Please include the name of the hospital. We cannot count on the hospital to call, even if you tell them what church you attend. We want to be supportive so please call. Be sure to call whenever you want to talk with the pastor---- whatever the reason. If you would like something sent out as a prayer request to our prayer warriors, p l e a s e c a l l o r e m a i l t h e c h u r c h o f f i c e ( o f f i c b a d a x e f u m c. o r g ) o r P a s t o r P h i l (pastorphil@live.com) ADVENT KICK OFF DECEMBER 2 There will be a free lunch for all! We will have a chance to view many nativity sets belonging to our church family! There will be a nativity craft for the kids and a nativity surprise for all who attend. After lunch, there will be a Christmas singalong in the sanctuary, where we will kick off Advent with our favorite Christmas carols. Greetings, It has been a tradition at our church to give the paid staff (pastor & other employees) a gift at Christmas by volunteer donations. Donation envelopes will be included in the bulletin for the next two Sundays, December 2 nd and 9 th. Please leave your gift in the envelope and return it to the offering plate or the church office no later than December 10 th. Sincerely, Brian Cubitt, Staff/Pastor/Parish Relations Chairperson Prepare your hearts and homes for the coming of our King during this Advent season. Join us every Sunday for our regularly scheduled worship services at 8:00 AM and 10:00 AM as we come together in prayer, in praise, in music, in fellowship, and in hopeful anticipation of the birth of Jesus the Christ. You are also invited to participate in the following special activities and events. A complete list of December meetings and activities can be found on the calendar inside this issue of The Chimes. December 2: Commitment Sunday at both services; ADVENT KICK OFF December 6: UMW Christmas Party in the Dining Room at 6 PM December 9: Concert at 4:00 in the Sanctuary - This afternoon will be filled with beautiful sounds of various musical instruments for the community to enjoy. December 12: Potluck at 6 PM -YUMMY! December 23: 10 AM service Christmas Musical: Good News from Home. Performed by the Free & United Methodist Choirs of Praise. This timeless musical brings joy to the reality of our true home - at home with our Savior. December 24: Christmas Eve celebration begins with the brass ensemble at 7:30 PM and worship at 8:00 PM. The nursery will be available as a cry room but will not be staffed.

2 VOLUNTEERS IN MINISTRY If you are unable to fulfill your commitment on your scheduled Sunday, please make arrangements to have your position covered. Call others on the list and see if they can trade weeks with you. If you are unable to find a substitute on your own, call Sharon in the church office during office hours (M-W 8 AM to 2 PM) for assistance. If you are not on the greeter list and would like to be included as a greeter and/or could help on a Sunday where there is only one greeter/couple, please call the church office to volunteer. December Altar & Communion: Stephanie Krohn December Worship Leader: Susan Hass December Ushers: Charlie Hass, Chuck Mantey, Jim Hass Greeters: December 2: Jim & Rita Wencel December 9: Jane Rosenthal December 16: Cherrie Mooney; Connie Myers December 23: Ron & Carol Learman STAY IN TOUCH LISTEN LIVE! You can listen to our 10 AM service live each Sunday on WLEW 1340 AM. You can also listen to our 10 AM service each Sunday on your computer, phone, or tablet from anywhere in the world. Go to thumbnet.net to listen live or to download an app that will allow you to listen live on your android or Apple devices.wherever you are on Sunday morning! WE NEED YOU! Our Sunday school classes have begun with over 20 children registered, and we are still in d e s p e r a t e n e e d o f H E L P E R S a n d SUBSTITUTE TEACHERS. Kari Hildreth is teaching our pre-school class; Laurie Tousley is teaching K-3 rd grade; and Susan Hass is teaching 4 th -8 th grade. We need more folks who can volunteer to help in a specific class, to help as a floater (helping out where needed), to help as a substitute teacher (when a teacher is ill or out of town; all plans would be available), to help every Sunday from 9 to 9:45, to help occasionally with special projects, TO HELP! Our youngsters deserve the best Christian education we can offer. Please pray about what YOU can do. Contact Renee Krueger, our Sunday school superintendent, or the church office if you can help! GREETERS NEEDED! We are in need of more greeters for At this time we only have enough volunteers to schedule greeters twice a month. This is an easy job, open to all ages; you get to meet and greet many people that you may not know very well. If you are interested, call the church office to be added to the Greeter List. POTLUCK We have had a great turnout at our first two potlucks of the y e a r ; if you weren t there, you missed some wonderful food! Our next potluck will be held on December 12 th, at 6 PM. Bring your own table service and a dish to pass. This is a great time of food and fellowship! Be there!

3 KEEP IN YOUR PRAYERS Huron County Medical Care Sheri Vincent Marlene Murdock Mary Orr Meadow Lane Assisted Living Gladys Hamilton Apt. #8 Bill MacAlpine Apt. #18 Lakeview Extended Care Evelyn Graves COLLEGE STUDENTS Hannah Gorkowski Emma Cubitt Jessica Cubitt CELEBRATIONS DECEMBER BIRTHDAYS 2 Wyatt Humphrey- Phillips 4 Cherrie Mooney 6 Susan Hass Alan Majeska 7 Haley Krueger 11 Andy Sommers Robin Zurek Violet Hass 13 Bob Miller 16 Bill MacAlpine Sr Nancy Walker 23 Evelyn Graves 25 Jesus the Christ 26 Bill MacAlpine Jean Sommers Jeff Krohn 28 Mary McCracken 31 Dale Cubitt Emma Cubitt DECEMBER ANNIVERSARIES 10 Elwin & Joan Cubitt 15 Karl & Susan Hass 16 Tom & Deb Laity Natalie Breault Wyatt Humphrey-Phillips Isabel Humphrey-Phillips Charlie Hass Noah Krueger COLLEGE KIDS and THEIR PARENTS: If we don t have your college address and , please send them to mrs_tousley@hotmail.com or office@badaxefumc.org If you have a cell phone, let us know your phone number, too! We would like to be able to send you messages and surprises during the school year! And who doesn t like surprises?! If we have missed your birthday or anniversary please call the church office ( ).

4 submitted by Kathie Abke, UMW President We ve all struggled this year with losses and illness and disappointments and challenges. I just read something that I want to share, woman to woman (and man, if they re reading this). Every year at this time we sing Silent Night, Holy Night. We are surrounded by images of Mary, all clean and serene, holding her calm baby. We all know that couldn t possibly be the way it really was. Think childbirth In a stable No doctor or midwife Pastor Adam Hamilton writes in his book Not a Silent Night, As Mary learned, God doesn t promise a perfect, peaceful life or a silent, holy night. She was blessed, Godfavored, and grace-filled, yet her troubles did not end. That s how life was for Mary, and that s how life is for us. Life doesn t go according to our plans. Sometimes it s hard and painful and scary. Yet, in the messiness of life, God is at work, bringing blessing out of pain. That s the message of Christmas. As He blesses us, we re part of God s plan to bring blessing out of pain for others by serving as we re called. One big event where we followed the call in a very good way was Project Connect. The report is that we had about 8 tables loaded with warm clothing (sweaters, sweatshirts, fleeces, etc.), a box of socks, a box of newly knitted hats of all sizes, and some coats, plus a table with shampoo, shave cream, toothpaste and toothbrushes, combs, soap and some cleaning supplies. There were also lots of blankets and some sheets and pillowcases. Everything was given away except for a couple of boxes of clothes that were taken to Thumb Industries (where they will continue to bless). Wow! Thank you to all who donated, sorted, loaded, set up and worked at the event. You are a blessing. A big THANK YOU! to everyone who participated in Operation Christmas Child. A total of 40 filled shoeboxes were delivered to Bay Shore Camp for their trip to needy children around the world. There are heartwarming stories of children receiving the light of God s love through these small gifts given from our abundance. The UMW Christmas Party is taking place on Thursday December 6 th a festive event, for sure, and just $10 for great food, fun, prizes, surprises and warm fellowship! Don t be sorry you didn t go! It s not too late to call the church office with your reservation. Last year it was decided to allocate funds from the fruit of our labor in January instead of our usual December lunch. Sharon has volunteered to host this meeting on January 17, 2019 at 3:00 p.m. in the conference room. Mark your calendar. Women of the church (and friends) are invited to lunch the last Tuesday of each month. We meet at 11:30, buy our own lunch and just catch up on visiting for an hour or so. It s a fun time to see old friends and meet new friends. Please join us! No lunch bunch in December Tuesday, January 29 Mancino s

5 E.T. and the Manger Scene One Advent season, not so long ago and pretty far away, I snuck my plastic E.T. (the extra-terrestrial) into the family creche just to see if anyone would notice. It was quite a sight. He was in perfect scale with the rest of the scene, peering at the baby Jesus with an expression that was somehow fitting. When everyone arrived for Christmas vacation, I was anxious to see what the reaction would be. As it turned out, I had to drop several hints to get someone to notice my display. After some laughter, I think it was Bri who said, You know it s Christmas, right? Jesus might not like that very much. Always a fan of satire, I replied, That s okay, he s only a baby this time of year anyway. We had a good time with that creche, and as far as I know E.T. is still with all the other people and creatures that are a part of our first nativity set. As I have had occasion to remember that Christmas, I sometimes return to my response to Bri s admonition. Why do we celebrate Christmas with such fervent joy? How has it become more important than Pentecost, or even Easter in our society? It seems to me that it s still a good thing that people today respond to the Nativity in a positive way, at least for the most part. A beautiful scene on a starlit night. A baby in a manger. The Holy Family, with Angels, and shepherds, and farm animals. It is easy to embrace a scene like that. A child who will bring peace on earth and good will to humanity, at least in our imaginations. He makes no demands, and he calls for no sacrifice this time of year. After all, he s only a baby. It s a good and wonderful thing that people gather at the manger to pay homage to the Christ child. God s grace is a powerful thing, and we never know what a passing glance at the baby in the manger might bring about as a person s life unfolds. It is an amazing, grace-filled thing when human beings receive the whole story of the coming of Christ. In the New Testament accounts, Jesus the Christ does not stay in the manger until the following year. He grows in wisdom and stature. He calls some rough and tumble fisherman to follow him, and they do. He trains them to spread the Good News about the Kingdom of God. He goes about the countryside bringing hope, healing, and life itself during his three-year ministry. And those who were threatened by his message and actions arrest him and sentence him to torture and death. Little did they know that even death itself would not hold him. The grave would not silence him. He was raised from the dead in the power of God Almighty! He sent the Holy Spirit to be with us, to empower us, to turn the world upside down with the power of the Gospel. We would have never heard of that pleasant babe in the manger if the rest of the story had not happened in just the way the true church has proclaimed for two thousand years. And he is coming again, sooner rather than later, to set up his Kingdom upon the Earth. Advent and Christmas are a wonderful time of year indeed. We absolutely should celebrate the birth of our Lord and remember that Nativity. It is my prayer that our church and community will, by the grace of God, receive and act upon the whole story of God s arrival on planet Earth. He is, after all, the only real extraterrestrial we will ever need! To our church family, Peace, Pastor Phil Again this year, instead of sending out individual Christmas cards to you, the congregation, we have donated in honor of our church to UMCOR (United Methodist Committee on Relief.) UMCOR is a cause that is near and dear to all Methodists and seems like a natural place to send the money our family usually spends on cards and postage. We pray that 2019 will be a year of blessing for our church family! May you each have the gift of faith, the blessing of hope and the peace of His love at Christmas and always. Pastor Phil and Laurie

6 FAMILY CRAFT NIGHT Our Sunday school Family Craft Night was an overwhelming success! More photos are on display in the dining room.