First United Methodist Church The Chimes. Inside this issue. Special points of interest. December 1, 2017 Volume 1, Issue 12

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1 First United Methodist Church The Chimes December 1, 2017 Volume 1, Issue 12 What a story! Every year, I confess I feel a bit of pressure around Advent. More people come to church during this season than any other season. We have families who have not attended most of the summer or fall who are just getting back to the habit of coming to church during this season. We have friends and family visiting. We have visitors who are struggling during this season and turn to the church. Some people come simply because they believe they should during this season. They all come to hear the Christmas story told once again. I will confess I sometimes feel a bit of pressure to tell the story in a new and interesting way. After all, everyone who comes knows the story. I feel like I need to tell it in some new and interesting way, some way that will get people hooked...something that will justify all the student loans I m paying from my seminary education. A lot of people feel the need to tell the story in a new way. There is a movie in theaters now called The Star that tells the nativity from the perspective of the animals. I hear it is a cute movie; I am considering taking the kids to see it. We want to tell the story in a way we have never heard it before. But can we tell it in any form to make it more spectacular, more meaningful, more miraculous than it already is? A God who created us out of the abundance of God s love. A God who chose us to be God s people. A God who, when we could not keep our covenant with Him, chose to send a part of God s self to be born to an unwed teenage mother in a backwater part of the world, to become human, to live and die for our salvation. I cannot beat that story. Our Christmas celebrations are full of traditions that have very little to do with the holiday: trees, lights around our homes, presents, meals, get-togethers, etc. Those can be wonderful traditions. Some of them even have holy roots. If we are not careful, though, these traditions these re-tellings of the Christmas story can take our attention away from the true miracle of Christmas. A God who created us out of the abundance of God s love. A God who chose us to be God s people. A God who, when we could not keep our covenant with Him, chose to send a part of God s self to be born to an unwed teenage mother in a backwater part of the world, to become human, to live and die for our salvation. What a story! -Pastor Jonathan Inside this issue Service Schedule... 2 Poinsettia Order... 2 Thank You... 3 Birthdays... 3 Youth News... 4 UMCOR... 5 Preschool News... 6 Special points of interest What a Story! Order your poinsettia now! Let s Eat...soup cook-off, Cookie Walk, Der Dutchman FUMC present the Christmas Story.

2 10:00 am 4:00 pm 11:00 pm 10:00 am Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. -Luke 2:11 Order Form Sharon Heilman Karl McNeal Peggy Wills Tia Reffner Ruth Klingler Wilma Zuchetto John Wicherson Marilyn Arn Bud Winzenried David Deever Mason Bloom Erma Boysel Zoey Turner Linda Mabrey Janet Jones You are invited to order poinsettias to decorate our church for the Advent Season. Fill in the form below and place in the offering plate or return to the Church Office with your payment of $7.00 per plant by Thursday, December 7 th. _ Please provide the following information for each poinsettia ordered. Name of donor Phone Additional names on back of form Total number of poinsettias ordered Total amount enclosed: $

3 Becky Craig, Judy Leiberick, Roberta Flinn, Marsha Watkins, and the many others that stopped by to pull weeds, water, or fill the fountain. Thank you for the prayer shawl and gift cards upon Zoey s birth. Also, thank you for all of the prayers for her during her stay at Children s Hospital. She is fully recovered and we are happy to be home. We can t wait for everyone to meet her. -Zach, Julia, Jack and Zoey Thanks for God s Gardeners for helping to care for the gardens at the church: Jane Landsberg, Lois Lautenschlager, Carole Crates, Reba Coats, Mary Lou McNeal, Daren and Cheryl Fogle, David and Susan Headings, Gladys Hamilton, Sharon Heilman, Adeline and Bob Terry, Pat Ritchey, Penny Hudson, -Sandy and Jim Pruden Thank you to Pastor Jonathan, Jan and Dick Aller and all the women who helped with the lunch after the service for Paul. Thank you to all of you who sent food, cards, called and visited me. Thank you to my church family for the love and support you have given us. -Sandy Herman and family Thank you so much for the beautiful service for Tim. You brought forth so many aspects of his life that were truly appreciated. Thank you again, -Eve, Kristi and Greg Timmons 12/9 Lou Ann Harrold 1953 Hartford Path, The Villas, FL /11 Herb Oberlitner St. Rt. 68, Kenton 12/11 Reba Coats 3C. Court, Kenton 12/14 Peg Neal Maureen Dr.. Kenton Kids Club Wednesday Nights, 6:00 pm Ministry 6:30-8:00 pm December 6 th -Faith In Action Night- (Decorating cookies for the cookie walk) December 13 th - The Messiah is Born! December 20 th & 27 th No Kids Club Enjoy your time with family! 12/16 Ruth Watkins Twp. Rd. 104, Kenton 12/31 Norma McCullough St. Rt. 31, Kenton

4 We have noticed a growing need in our 11am worship nursery with children ages 1 st -4 th grade. We have seen a chance to nurture their spiritual growth while fostering a feeling of inclusion into the worship service. We are starting a junior church program aimed at this group, focused on connecting to them while integrating them into worship. Please see Christa Quail for more details. Youth News This time of year is very busy and our youth group is very busy as well. We will host our second One Fund event for this year on Sunday, December 3 rd at noon. It is a soup cook-off/ silent auction. Youth need to be here at 10:00 am to help set-up. The soup cook-off begins at NOON! The silent auction will end at 1:15 pm. Please join us immediately following the 11:00 am service to sample the soups, vote, shop the auction items and help support our Youth Ministry! Sunday, December 17 th from 5:15-8:15 pm the youth group will be participating in a Live Nativity Scene at the Lake of Lights. All youth need to meet at the Lake of Lights at 5:00 pm for costumes. This is a fundraising opportunity! ALL of the profits earned will be distributed to the local groups that participate with Lake of Lights. Please help spread the word. Bring your family and enjoy the Lake of Lights displays with our own youth as the Live Nativity! All high school youth are asked to help at the Community Hymn Sing on Sunday, December 10 th at 6:00 pm. We will have dinner at 5:30 pm then help with the children s programs for the night. Children s programs will be divided for ages birth-preschool, preschool-1 st grade, 2 nd -5 th grade. Let Christa know ASAP what age group you would like to help with. We will not have youth group on Sunday, December 24 th or Sunday, December 31 st. Enjoy this time with your families!

5 UMCOR Buckets Bus Trip-Der Dutchman, Plain City December 13th Meet at the church parking lot at 4:30 pm Bus fare- $5.00 per couple or $3.00 per individual Bus seating limited to 12 couples (24) Dinner is on your own Please make your reservation by submitting your name and phone number before December 12th to the church office. Thank you for your donations of money and supplies! As a church we were able to meet our goal and fill 50 buckets! They will now travel to the East Ohio Conference Center in North Canton and then on to the East Mission Barn in New Castle, PA to wait for distribution. UMCOR relies on these gifts and donations to continue their work and they appreciate your generosity! Christmas Program for all ages! Children of the church will be presenting a Christmas program at the 4:00 pm Family Christmas Eve Service. We will have practices at 10:00 am, during Sunday School on Sunday, December 10 th & 17 th and a dress rehearsal on Wednesday, December 20 th from 6:00 pm-7:30 pm. We have speaking and non-speaking parts. All ages are welcome to join us!! Please see Christa Quail for more details. United Methodist Women Sixteen women enjoyed eating and chatting at Helmuth s on November 9th. Members Ruth Kreinbihl and Shirley Stauffer were honored with special membership for being involved and contributing beyond the call of duty. Other activities for the women are serving lunch to the Hardin County Homemakers on December 5th, the Cookie Walk on December 9th and delivering flowers to our shut-ins on December 14th. Remember Cookie Walk December 9th. Bake some cookies and bring to the church on Friday, December 8th. This year s proceeds will be given to: FUMC Helping Hands, Community Helping Hands, Kids Club, Recovery Court and Soup Kitchen.

6 Preschool News Psalm 100:1 Make a joyful noise to the Lord all the Earth! Serve the Lord with the gladness! Come into His presence with singing. As this Thanksgiving has recently passed I am reminded to be thankful not only in the season but all year through, especially for Jesus and the upcoming celebration of His birthday at Christmas. I am so thankful for Lacey who has been such a GREAT help to me throughout the year, doing things before I even know I need them done. I thank Lisha for her smiling face every morning and doing things for me even when it s not her job to do so and ever so sweetly. And Pastor Jonathan who continues to be my technical support and spending time fixing my computer issues. I couldn t forget Christa who helps keep our preschool running as smoothly as it does with all her grace and wisdom. God has given this church and preschool an abundance of blessings, God s people! When we went around the circle in both classes mentioning things we were thankful for, I was pleased to hear most all the students say they were happy for family. No toys were even mentioned. What a great group of tender-hearted kids. Math time has been a real eye-opener for the students. It was fun to see the children s faces as I ended teaching the numbers 0 to 9, and explained that they now knew all the numbers they ever needed to know. It was like the light bulb came on for most of them with their mouths hanging open as they made the mental connection. These are the best parts of being a teacher, well that and accidentally being called mommy. December 14th at 6:00 pm is our annual preschool Christmas program here at the church in the sanctuary. Our theme this year is The Sound of Music. You are all invited to attend our short program and refreshments following. -Miss Lisa Community Hymn Sing December 10th 6:30 pm First United Methodist Church December 9th 10:00 am Saturday, January 20th Cost $15.00 Lunch provided

7 First United Methodist 234 N. Main Street Kenton, Ohio Attendance and Offering 9:00 11:00 Offering Reverend Jonathan Hanover ADDRESSES November $ November $ November $ November $ preschool@kentonfirst.org WEBSITE: kentonfirst.org December 2017 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Worship 10 SS 11 Worship 12 Youth auction 4 10 Staff mtg 5 9:30 Knitters 6:30 Bells, Boy scouts 7:30 Worship mtg 6 6:00 Dinner 6:30 Bible study, Kids Club, Middle school youth Cookie Walk 10 9 Worship 10 SS/rehearsal 11 Worship 6:30 Hymn Sing 17 9 Worship 10 SS/rehearsal 11 Worship Staff mtg 6:30 Trustees Staff mtg 6:30 Children s ministry meeting 12 4:00 NOC mtg 6:30 Bells, Boy scouts 19 9:30 Knitters 5:30 SPR 6:30 Bells, Boy scouts 13 4:30 Bus trip 6:00 Dinner 6:30 Bible study, Kids Club, Middle school youth 20 6:00-7:30 Dress rehearsal play practice 14 6:00 Preschool Christmas program :00 Worship 4:00Family service 11:00 Candlelight service 25 Christmas 26 Office Closed :00 Worship