Merry Christmas. Greg, Winifred, Kathy Justin, Tara, Sue, Verna Tom, Steve, Betty & Jerry. A Celtic Christmas Celebration

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1 2300 Country Club Road, Duncan, OK Phone: Fax : Website: Volume 13 Issue 49 December 18, 2013 SERMON SERIES for DECEMBER December 22 December 24 December 29 Anticipating a Sign Isaiah 7:10-16 Anticipating a Birthday Luke 2:1-20 Anticipating Salvation in God s Presence Isaiah 63:7-9 A Celtic Christmas Celebration Written by Joseph M. Martin Presented by the Chancel Choir with astring & Woodwind Ensemble from Oklahoma City Sunday, December 22nd, at 4 pm Reception following in the FUMCenter Merry Christmas from your Ministry Staff Greg, Winifred, Kathy Justin, Tara, Sue, Verna Tom, Steve, Betty & Jerry The church offices will be closed December 24th, 25th and 26th.

2 FILL A BAG FEED THE HUNGRY CONTINUES UNTIL DEC. 22 We can still use a few more bags to provide Christmas Dinner for families referred to us by Christians Concerned. If you have forgotten to fill yours, you can still participate! They won t be delivered until this Sunday, Dec. 22, so bring them by the church anytime this week! We also need help delivering the bags, so please call to volunteer for this special Christmas ministry! December 22 Rattle the Buckets for Food for Kids Christmas Eve Traditional Services 5pm and 11pm The Candlelight and Communion services for Christmas Eve are filled with wonderful experiences designed to set your heart ready for Christmas Day. The Rev. Dr. Tolle will be preaching from Luke 2:1 20 as he continues the sermon series, Anticipating Christmas: Anticipating a Birthday. The anthem will be Still, Still, Still and special music by Tara Cook and Justin Sommer at the 5:00 service. The Wilson trio will sing at the 11:00 service. Those assisting with the services are listed below: 5:00 SERVICE Communion Stewards David & Cheryl Dowell Communion Servers Rev. Dr. Greg Tolle & Marcus McEntire Butch & Jamie Whitten Scott & Leah Berning Larry & Sue Sims Advent Candle Lighters Eric Davis Family 11:00 SERVICE Communion Stewards Steve & Nancy Gray Communion Servers Rev. Dr. Greg Tolle & Kathy Gibson Justin Sommer & Sue Gibbons Advent Cancle Lighter Craig Lowe ATTENTION CURRENT GREETERS AND THOSE INTERESTED IN GREETING IN 2014 We will begin working on the 2014 greeter schedule for Traditional worship in a couple of weeks. If you would like to be added to or deleted from the schedule please contact the church by Dec. 20. Thank you so much to those who have served in 2013 and helped add to the friendliness and hospitality of our congregation! Praying For Our Church Family Pat Cook J. E. Cordell Shelley Duke Glenda Hollingsworth Harold and Liz Hackler Harriet Mitchell Bill Bernhardt upon the death of his brother Renee Rodriguez upon the death of his sister Praying For Our Loved Ones and Friends in the Community Judy Richardson, sister of Kathleen Smith Martin Edwards Family Rick Buchanan Family Roger Neal Fred Roloff, and wife, Liz, friend and teacher at Lawton Mac High School The family of Abigail Smith Margaret Ooley, sister-in-law of Ann Richardson, Aunt of Kathy Gibson Patricia King, sister-in-law of Sue Gibbons Pat Cook, Bobby Cook s mother and Tara Cook s mother-in-law Bobbie Taylor, Kelly Taylor s mother-in-law **HELP NEEDED** Volunteers to Deliver Christmas Sacks Sunday, December 22nd Between 12 2 Our congregation took on the challenge of providing Christmas dinner for families that had registered at Christians Concerned. Approximately 100 families registered and it looks like we will have just enough sacks of groceries to fill the order. The list will be divided into the zones so the distribution will be easier. We need 20 willing people to take 5 families. Sacks were organized and filled from our church facility. If you are willing to step up to this challenge and help your church help these folks, please call the church office and put your name on the delivery list. The recipients will be called beforehand so each family will be expecting your delivery. Please consider this opportunity for serving during the Christmas season. MORE SHEPHERDS NEEDED FOR 2014 Each year the Shepherd Ministry starts fresh in January. This year we have had 46 shepherds so each flock has been small about 4 or 5 families. Of those 46 who served this year, 10 will be unable to continue in So, we need you to consider whether this is something that you would enjoy and in which you feel called to participate! Please call the church office for more information or to volunteer. There will be a lunch/training/sharing in January. Watch the Proclaim for further details.

3 Christmas Movie Night in the FUMCenter Friday, Dec 20th 6:00 pm Mission Moment & Scripture Reader Greeters Children s Church Altar Flowers: Mission Candle: Worship Leader: Scripture Reader: Greeters: Debra & Renee Rodriguez Debra & Renee Rodriguez Kim Taylor Traditional Service In memory of Howard and Joan Wright By Clay and Jan Cole In memory of Patrick and John Douthitt by Ann Douthitt and family Marcus McEntire Jennifer Couch 8:45 am -10:15 am - Adult Wing & Narthex Jimmy & Carla Griffin 8:45 am -10:15 am - SW Door Robin Robertson & Lisa Gallaway 9:30 am -10:15 am Sanctuary/N Bill Armistead Sanctuary/S Barbara Armistead At Large Brenda Thompson USHER GROUP 5: Guy Messersmith, Joe Enos, Bob LeValley, Jim Matthews, Don Rice, Bruce Ridley, Cathy Weisner, Steve Gray and Rodney Love Acolytes: Mackenzie Thomas & David Warburton Child Ushers: Alivia Cook & Allison Bailey Children s Church: Kim Taylor CSI: Christ Scene Investigation December 15th Christmas Message 3 & 4 yr olds/k-1st: Computers 2nd & 3rd Grades: Video 4th & 5th Grades: Recreation OPPORTUNITIES FOR ADULT BIBLE STUDIES for 2014 Wednesday Night Live Studies Jan. 8 - Apr. 16 THE CASE FOR CHRIST A JOURNALIST S PERSONAL INVESTIGATION OF THE EVIDENCE FOR JESUS taught by Greg Tolle. Study books are $5.00. Jan. 8 Feb. 26 ENCOUNTERS WITH ORTHODOXY: HOW THE PROTESTANT CHURCHES CAN REFORM THEMSELVES AGAIN taught by Tracy Wilson. Study books are $ Sunday Afternoon Study, 4 pm White Christmas in The Center! Polar Express in the Holyword Theater Bring your favorite Christmas snack food to share. We will have the popcorn machine a poppin. If you need a nursery or don t like to drive after dark, call the church office so arrangements can be made. It s going to be a fun night! Invite a friend! VIM TRIP TO ALASKA Our congregation is joining with FUMC in Marlow on a VIM trip to work on the Girdwood Chapel in Girdwood, Alaska. This is a Methodist Church and the only Protestant church in Girdwood. Rev. Matt Scraper from the Marlow FUMC will be the team leader. In addition to working on repairing and remodeling this church there will be opportunities for sightseeing built into the trip. The group will begin meeting in January to get acquainted and firm up plans. Each member will pay for their own travel, lodging and food but the arrangements will be made by the team leader. For more information contact Merlene Orme. Jan. 12 Feb. 23 A DISCIPLE S PATH taught by Kathy Gibson. Study book and workbook are $15.00 per person.

4 Notes Fr The Shopping Spree for Toy Shop last weekend was a hit! We had 30 plus students show up to go shopping for 45 kids that we had adopted from Toy Shop. Is was a great evening filled with great experiences. We went shopping at 11:45pm and got back and wrapped all the presents and finished by 3:00am Saturday morning. It was a fun time and all the students that came did a great job picking out presents and wrapping. The Youth Ministry will now be pretty quiet until the next year! Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New year! Coming Events Thursday December 19th: Deliver the Toy Shop Presents at 5:30 pm Open Gym at 7:30 pm Sunday December 22nd: Roots Starts up at 9:00 am in the morning! Connexion Service Starting at 10:00 Anticipating A Sign a study on Isaiah 7:10-16 by Rev Dr. Greg Tolle. Connexion is open for everyone of all ages, so come! Cantata at 4:00 in the Sanctuary Tuesday December 24th: Christmas Eve Services: Traditional- 5:00 pm Connexion- 6:30 pm Candle Light-11:00 pm Wednesday December 25th: No Elevate! Christmas Day It s not about us, it s about Him! Justin Sommer Worship Leader and Youth Director Our Christmas program was such a huge success! Thank you to everyone who contributed to our Preschool Tree with our kids! It was such a blessing and a treat to see all the excitement on the kids faces when they opened their gift from Santa! There are so many stories of how you touched the lives of the kids and I know this is something they and their parents won t soon forget. Preschool/MDO will be closed from Dec 19 th - Jan 6 th. We will resume classes on January 7 th at the regular time. Thank you so much for all the prayers and support that you give this ministry. We feel the love! Tara Cook Director of Children s Ministries, Preschool/MDO & Nursery Coordinator m the Staff As we face the year end we are short in our budget giving by $63,000. Please remember all the incredible things we accomplished this year: Music - Presented Maundy Thursday worship service (Christmas Cantata scheduled for December 22); developed three new vocalists for choir and special music and inspired improvement in all our musicians; White Cross Ringers and Chancel Chimes played in worship service with new players in both groups; the choir entertained over 175 people with Dave, a dinner theater Children - Continued the child ushers and acolytes programs; expanded Children s Church to both Connexion and Traditional services; served over 200 children with Vacation Bible School; invited in the community for Trunk or Treat with food for everyone; raised up our children into youth with the Confirmation Class Youth - Attended Youth Force, Dayspring and Lawton District Camps; developed Instagram and Twitter accounts for youth communication; participated in Mission Saturday as a congregational support program; welcomed over 50 new students to the FUMC Youth program Sound and Audio/Video Ministries - Wi-Fi available in all areas of the church facility; uploaded Sunday worship services to our website; developed and maintained a Duncan FUMC Facebook account; created Facebook account for the Preschool/MDO program; improved the sound in the sanctuary and choir loft with better wiring and equipment maintenance Education Work Area - Wednesday Night Live studies for children, youth and adults; Bible studies for women and men of all ages Community Outreach - Provide thousands of meals for our congregation and for our shut-in members; welcome groups from all parts of our community to our facility with grace and love While much of this is accomplished with our congregational family, it is your church staff who is available Sunday through Friday to talk to you, to listen to your ideas for our church missions and to put into place the ideas you want to accomplish for our church. Please say a special thank you to your church staff when you see them, for their love of Christ and for their dedication to Duncan FUMC. May God bless you, Sue Gibbons Financial Secretary

5 From the When we restructured our staff positions earlier this fall, there were many factors that went into the decision. One factor was the need to do the best job we can with caring Tollehouse for our members. Most of us are probably not aware, but we have 454 people that we care for through our Shepherd Ministry. These are our local members and constituents who have attended and/or contributed financially during the course of the year. Church experts say that a minister can effectively provide pastoral care for about 150 people. As you can see, we are trying to care for three times that amount. This is why we ve established the role of Ministry Coordinator with the hopes of this becoming an associate minister. Kathy Gibson serves in this role and is exploring the possibility of becoming a licensed Local Pastor. As such, her role is to be the pastoral care first responder on behalf of the church. She and I are then in communication regarding each person. I know that Kathy is one of us as she was raised in our church, but know that when Kathy has visited and offered a pastoral prayer, she is representing the church as well as herself. I will be involved as necessary and praying in all situations. We believe that this model will help us to better care for all 454 of us. May God s Peace Be with You, Rev. Dr. Greg Tolle Senior Minister Notes Fr Children s Ministry Kaleidoscope was so awesome!!! All of the kids did so well! Each of them showed their wonderful and sweet unique personalities and really brought the spirit of Christmas into the evening! Thank you to everyone who attended, brought sweet/hearty treats, and supported our wonderful kiddos! Special thanks to Kathy Gibson, Winifred Bailey, Steve Taylor, and Betty Davis for their contributions to the evening! Without their help, the evening would not have been such a success!! I hope everyone is having a wonderful week and getting prepared to have some quality time off with your kiddos!! Love you all! Faith, Grace, and Hope ~Tara Cook Director of Children s Ministries, Preschool/MDO & Nursery Coordinator m the Staff Music Notes The music last Sunday got rave reviews. The White Cross Ringers rang two pieces. The solo number, Gloria Hodie had a medley of Christmas carols in it and everyone seemed to enjoy the energy of the piece. The second number accompanied the first hymn, O Come All Ye Faithful. This number was hard to play at a singing tempo but the group did a great job and I could hear the congregation and choir singing the hymn. The Chancel Choir sang an anthem they have sung before, I Shall Know Him When He Comes. This lovely anthem really brings to light the true meaning of the birth of the Christ Child. It was wonderful having Amy Wilson playing the worship service last Sunday. Amy filled in for Dr. Labe' and she did an outstanding job -- complete with Prelude, Offertory and Postlude special music. Amy worked hard to have the service music ready. We are so lucky that she was available. Thank you Amy! For the fourth week of Advent, the Chancel Choir will sing the introit, Christmas Sanctus and the anthem, Jesus Is Our Christmas Peace. The Advent Candle lighters will be the Richard Bailey Family. Rev. Dr. Tolle will continue the sermon series, Anticipating Christmas. This Sunday the sermon title will be Anticipating a Sign. Jennifer Couch will read the scripture from Isaiah 7: Come and worship with us at 10:15. You will be blessed. Winifred Bailey. Director of Traditional Worship & Music Kathy s Corner I hope you are making plans to attend the Chancel Choir cantata, Tapestry of Light, this Sunday afternoon, Dec. 22 at 4pm. The choir has worked very hard on this presentation but it has also been a very joyful time of fellowship and camaraderie and even moments of worship, all led by the most outstanding music director in all of Methodism! One of the phrases in the cantata says: Rejoice! Rejoice! This is a time of worship! Lift up your voice and tune your heart for praise. Not, tune your voice or sing in tune or sing on pitch, but tune your heart for praise! Let s get our hearts in tune with the coming of the Christ Child! Kathy Gibson, Ministry Coordinator

6 First United Methodist Church 2300 Country Club Road Duncan, Oklahoma Address Service Requested Non-profit Organization Presorted Standard U.S. Postage Paid Duncan, OK Permit #19 CHURCH CALENDAR Thursday, December 19th 9 am Pilates-Music Suite 9 am-2 pm Preschool/MDO-Children's Wing 7:30 pm Open Gym Friday, December 20th 8 am-noon Church Office Open 6 pm Movie Night in the Center White Christmas & Polar Express Sunday, December 22nd 9 am Sunday School-Classrooms 10 am Connexion Service - FUMCenter 10:15 am Traditional Service-Sanctuary 2 pm Boy Scout Troops-Adult Wing 2:30 pm Cantata Rehearsal 4 pm Tapestry of Light Cantata- Sanctuary 5 pm Reception after Cantata-FUMCenter 5:30 pm Disciple I Bible Study-Adult Wing Wesleyan Classroom 6:30 pm Youth Small Groups-Youth Lounge Monday, December 23rd 9 am Pilates-Music Suite 9:30 am Staff Meeting-Conference Room 7 pm Boy Scouts-Adult Activity Wing Monday, December 23rd cont d 8:30 pm SOAR Women s Study Group Tuesday, December 24th Christmas Eve Office closes at 3:00 5 pm Christmas Candlelight Service-Sanctuary 6:30 pm Connexion Christmas Candlelight Service- FUMCenter 11 pm Christmas Candlelight Service-Sanctuary STAFF DIRECTORY Rev. Dr. Greg Tolle, Senior Minister..greg.tolle@duncanfumc.org Winifred Bailey, Director of Traditional Worship & Music. winifred.bailey@duncanfumc.org Justin Sommer, Worship Leader/Youth Director justin.sommer@duncanfumc.org Kathy Gibson, Ministry Coordinator..kathy.gibson@duncanfumc.org Sue Gibbons, Financial Secretary..sue.gibbons@duncanfumc.org Tara Cook, Director of Children s Ministries & Preschool/MDO and Nursery Coordinator tara.cook@duncanfumc.org Steve Taylor, Director of Media Ministry...steve.taylor@duncanfumc.org Verna Wilson, Secretary......verna.wilson@duncanfumc.org Betty Davis..Church Hostess ( ) Dr. Thomas Labé.Organist and Pianist Jerry Marlar...Custodian