Hinsdale United Methodist Church The Flame December 2014

Transcription

1 Hinsdale United Methodist Church The Flame December 2014 Your Favorite Christmas Everyone has an unforgettable Christmas memory. Perhaps it is the toy that you received that was the "must have" of the year. From tickle me Elmo to cabbage patch dolls; from GI Joe with Kung-Fu grip to the latest version of Barbie; from the radio flyer wagon to the slinky; from play-dough to the easy bake oven; from my little pony to buzz lightyear; from superman to bratz; from monopoly live to the baby ican, there seems to always be something new and compelling on the horizon. Christmas memories can also focus on things that seem less tangible such as a family gathering in which loved ones were all together sharing laughs, exchanging recipes, being introduced to a girlfriend or boyfriend who will soon become an in-law, or traveling to an exciting destination. Interestingly, these moments quickly become lasting memories that fill us with a growing sense of nostalgia. Although memories obviously refer to a moment that has passed, the season of Advent invites us to anticipate a celebration that is approaching. The theme for Christmas this year at HUMC is "making Christmas memories that will last a lifetime." One of goal of this theme is to emphasize the Sundays of Advent and the worship service on Christmas Eve. Some traditions identify the themes of the four Sundays of Advent as hope, joy, peace and love. The Sundays of Advent help us prepare for the celebration of the birth of Christ-- the Savior for whom the world has been waiting. The coming of Christ is not only a singular event, the birth of Christ marks the incarnation of our Lord who reconciles us to God. Christ is born and Christ lives and reigns forevermore. As a result, our anticipation and preparation is for an event that has already occurred. Nevertheless, we remember the birth of Christ not only as an event that occurred a long time ago, but as an event that we desire to celebrate again and again in our hearts, in our homes and in our churches. The Advent study this year is using a resource entitled "It Was Not a Silent Night" written by Adam Hamilton, the pastor of Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas. The book views the life of Jesus through the eyes of his mother, Mary, beginning with His crucifixion and ending with His birth. While it is quite common, especially this time of the year, to focus almost exclusively upon the birth of Christ, considering the life of Christ from a different perspective can be very powerful. The significance of even seemingly minor details can be better appreciated when considered in retrospect. Our understanding of death tremendously impacts our conceptualization of life. Our knowledge of the details of Christ's death dramatically changes our comprehension of our lives as Christians. One of my most meaningful Christmas memories is not one of my favorite Christmas memories. My mother and several of her friends formed The Young Matron's Club that opened a kindergarten in my hometown to expand the availability of educational opportunities for children. Each year, the members of the club, all of whom were public school teachers, would purchase Christmas gifts for some of the children at the kindergarten who would probably not otherwise receive toys or other goodies at Christmas. These toys would often be stored in the club members' homes until the night of the Christmas program. When I arrived home from school and saw a fancy, blue dump truck near our Christmas tree, I assumed it was for me. I was crushed to learn that 1

2 my mother had purchased a Christmas gift for another child who wasn't even one of my siblings. I thought, "how could my mother love another child more than me?" Because it was my house, my tree, my mother, my Christmas...(you get the idea), I thought it was all about me. Christ had very little to do with my understanding of Christmas and had nothing at all to do with some other little boy who may not have received anything at Christmas. I am still learning much from that memory of Christmas. My favorite Christmas memories no longer focus primarily on the material things that I desired or received. Instead, as a parent, as a pastor, as a son, as a sibling, etc., I am far more interested in making this Christmas--the one that is coming--an unforgettable experience. In spite of all the fabulous, popular, and "must-have" items that we have given or received, our faith in Christ reminds us that the best is yet to come. Furthermore, the best gift has already been given; the question is have we yet received the gift of Christ. And, having received this gift, have we eagerly shared this gift with those who may not receive any gifts at all. Most importantly, are we living in a way that acknowledges Christ as the "must-have" gift this Christmas? Yours in Christ, Rev. Dr. Jon E. McCoy Do you have a favorite Christmas memory to share? photos to cheryl.huetson@hinsdaleumc.com OR your story to Rev. McCoy at JonMc06@aol.com Photos will be shown during worship on December 21 st. 5:00 p.m. Family Worship - All are invited to enter into the holiness of Jesus' birth with carols, candlelight and special music. 6:30 p.m. Sounds of the Season This free concert features local and guest musicians. 7:30 p.m. A service of Scripture, Carols and Candlelight with our Chancel Choir and guest musicians. Following the 7:30 service, the Greene s are hosting an Open House in Fellowship Hall with a light supper. Please bring a plate of cookies to share. All are welcome. 11:00 p.m. Candlelight Service A service celebrating our youth and young adults returning home for Christmas. 2

3 Among Our People Our continued prayers are with Helen Parkerson, Jean Borcherding, Connie Buczkowski, Ray Gustafson, Mary Korwel & Clydena Trembath. Our condolences continue to be with the Terri Johnson and family upon the death of Terri s mother, Marie Zimmerman. Congratulations to SFC Peter A. Huetson who was recently honored by receiving the Order of St. Barbara medal. The Honorable Order of Saint Barbara is awarded to those individuals who have demonstrated the highest standards of integrity and moral character, displayed an outstanding degree of professional competence, served the Artillery with selflessness; and contributed to the promotion of the Artillery branch. Music Ministry welcomes Mathew Loeb! Perhaps you have seen a new face on Sunday mornings? Currently, Matthew is coordinating music for this year s Christmas pageant and is practicing with the children each Sunday. A current music instructor at Montini High School, Matthew earned his BA in Music Instruction at Northern Illinois University. Since his arrival in October, Matthew has been introducing our children to singing or participating in music as part of their Sunday morning experience. Please greet Matthew at the reception immediately following the Children s Christmas program on Sunday, December 14 th. HUMC Concert Series Saturday, December 13 th at 4:00 p.m. Holiday Musical Celebration featuring The Cantores Community Choir directed by Belford Hernandez. Special guests include: Montini Catholic High School Chamber Choir and Matt Kowalski, Trombone. This is a Free Benefit Concert. No tickets will be sold, but donations will be accepted for the Cantores Community Choir Scholarship Program. For more information, visit 3

4 From the Worship Committee HUMC is the recipient of an anonymous donation toward the purchase of an outdoor Nativity Scene. A committee was formed including Irene Coomer, Perry and Shirley Steward, Carole Cartwright, with Polly Lathrop as chairperson. After several meetings the committee decided on the figures to be purchased. The figures are life size and made of fiberglass. The Nativity Scene will be displayed under the tower facing 55 th Street. The plan is to purchase additional figures in the future. A stable has been constructed and will receive its occupants on the annual Advent-Christmas decorating day of November 29 th. Thank you to Sherry Somers, chairperson of the Worship Committee, who has been a valuable help to the committee. Polly Lathrop Valet Parking is available to those in need. Please pull up to the double doors of the church (East side). Ushers will be looking, if you don t see one, come into the church and hand your keys to an usher and your car will be parked. With the cold, icy weather upon us we need to be aware of our fellow church members who might need assistance walking from the parking lot into the church. Please take notice and help where needed. Communion Wafers are Allergy Friendly Due to today s rise in food allergies, we wanted to make available the list of ingredients in the wafers used for Holy Communion. They are free of: gluten, wheat, casein, dairy, nut, egg, corn, yeast and soy. Ingredients include: Filtered Water, Sweet Rice Flour, Potato Flour, Palm Oil, Potato Starch, Methylcellulose, Sunflower Lecithin, Ener-G Baking Powder (sodium pyrophosphate, sodium bicarbonate, potato starch, monocalcium phosphate). Poinsettia Orders / Floral Calendar Order your poinsettias by Monday, Dec. 15th. Red or white poinsettias are $12.50 each. The 2015 Floral calendar is posted in the Narthex. Reserve your space now. Questions? Contact Sherry Somers. A big thank you to all who helped beautifully decorate the Sanctuary and church grounds for Christmas. Please mark Saturday, January 3 rd from 9:00 11:00 a.m. on your calendars. The Worship Committee would appreciate any time you can give to help put the decorations away. 4

5 Thanks to the many that made our family advent activity on Sunday, November 23rd a success. It was great to see a full room with families having fun decorating gingerbread houses, enjoying great snacks, and starting off the season with a smile on their faces. Each family also received a "Manger on the Mantle" advent kit to take home to help us all daily focus on the reason for the season. Children s Christmas on Sunday, December 14 th at 10:30 a.m. We are planning a Christmas cookie reception for everyone in the Fellowship Hall following the service. We will plan on having a birthday cake to celebrate Jesus birth, and have a photo booth so the kids can take pictures in their costumes. We trust you will all be there to encourage our children and youth. Parents: Practice continues on Sunday mornings thru December 14 th. Dress rehearsal is on Saturday, December 13 at 9:30 1:30 during PNO event. Great chance to enjoy a shopping date! Be sure to register by December 9. Forms are available online. Kids, join the fun on Sunday, December 21 st during the Kids Zone and Power Hour times. We ll be making Shrinky Dink ornaments just in time to decorate your family Christmas tree! With joy, serving your kids! Jennifer Austgen Director of the Children's Ministries 5

6 What is FOG? An option for Middle School & High School Youth to hang out, form lasting friendships, and have fun: includes games, movies, food, conversation, and more! Suggested is donation: $5.00. To coincide with the December s Parents Night Out Saturday event, the next FOG date is Saturday, December 13 th from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. All community youth are invited to attend, so please bring a friend. Registration Forms (required) may be mailed/turned into the church office by Tuesday, December 9. Next FOG date is January 9, 2015 from 6:00 9:00 p.m. The 7 th & 8 th grade Confirmation class, led by Pastor McCoy, Mrs. Nancy Malo and Mr. Jim Chadwick, is off to a great start. Read the first volume of the Confirmation Chronicle the confirmation newsletter. It is intended primarily to make sure that parents, youth, mentors and backup mentors are aware of the upcoming activities for confirmation. Watch for future issues on the church website under YOUTH/CONFIRMATION. Below Delicious Highlights from the Cooking Class with Chef Laura! 6

7 Here s a Sneak Preview into Adult Ed for January 2015: Visit hinsdaleumc/adults/education for a complete class listing. January 4 What does heaven look like? and other end of life issues will be discussed. Big questions and everyone seems to have different answers. Provided as a prequel to the informational class from Advance Directives (see below), we will discuss theories related to death, heaven, and the final resurrection. The Bible actually says very little about the time following our earthly death, so how do we know? While we must be content to accept this mystery, we will look at what the Bible does say about eternal life. Facilitated by Tammy Roach. January 11 A discussion regarding Advance Directives will be facilitated by Sharif A. Sharif from The Other Side of Medicine which provides comprehensive financial services and products for physicians, Erin A. Flanagan, MD Palliative Medicine, Pediatrics, and Charles C. MacDonald, MD Neonatology. An Advance Directive is a Living Will that allows you to legally document your wishes concerning medical treatment or decisions at the end of your life. It is important to prepare an Advance Directive while you re healthy and have the time to communicate your wishes and desires. It can also relieve your family of the burden of making end of life decisions at a very emotional and stressful time. January 18 Resilience in Unexpected Places: The Art and Faith of Vincent Van Gogh. How could this struggling artist, a suicidal square peg in polite society s round hole, possibly be an example for us of resilience, of affirming and celebrating life? Our friend, H.D. Mitchell, will bring several of the artist s fascinating images and we ll try to see both the artist s life and his faith with new eyes. January 25 Window Into Souls: The Faith Story of Rembrandt s Last Painting At the end of a life marked by both great success and epic tragedy this well known artist summed up his life and his faith in a masterpiece that is perhaps not well known among us. H.D. Mitchell will invite us to let this larger than life picture engage us and retell a well loved story from the Bible. NEW! Monday Night Bible Study! January 26 to February 9, 7:00 p.m., Room 109 St. Paul! Why did he write all those letters? Where was he when he was writing to the new believers? Who were these new Christians? These and other burning questions will be answered in a 3-week session beginning Monday, January 26 at 7:00pm. Be sure to save the dates (1/26, 2/2, 2/9) and watch for more details coming in the January Flame. Join our Next Fireside Readers Book Discussion Group Monday, January 26 th Our next book is Eighty Days: Nellie Bly and Elizabeth Bisland s History Making Race Around the World by Matthew Goodman. Read more. 7

8 Thanks to everyone who helped out with PADS this past month. 28 guests including 12 members of families were given food and shelter on a very cold night. Leftovers were delivered to Constance Morris House in LaGrange and extra lunchmeat was delivered to the local firehouse. Those of all ages who participated in Crop Hunger Walk want to thank all the sponsors who contributed $2,600 to Church World Service's response to the problems of hunger and poverty locally and worldwide. We also thank those who organized the Corner Bakery lunch before the event bringing us together in fellowship as HUMC before we left on the walk. On November 1, 2014, nearly 2,000 DuPage County residents spent a frosty night with temperatures as low as 27 degrees inside tents, boxes and cars to raise awareness about family homeless during Sleep Out Saturday. This all-night event was held in 25+ DuPage County communities and money was raised for Bridge Communities' Transitional Housing Program. Food boxes will be available again in the Narthex starting December 7th for Christmas. The delivery to Olivet United Methodist Church will take place Saturday, Dec. 20. All are encouraged to participate by taking and filling a box, assisting with the delivery to Olivet, or both. Thank you to everyone who contributed to filling boxes for Thanksgiving. It is HUMC s tradition to direct 100% of special holiday offerings to Rainbow Covenant missions. The Christmas Special Offering will be shared with Grace Children s Hospital in Haiti, MYSI (formerly Methodist Youth Services), ChildServ, and Public Action to Deliver Shelter (PADS). Thank you for your Thanksgiving offerings in support of Heifer International, Urban Village UMC, JUST of DuPage and the Community Feast at the United Church of Rogers Park. 8

9 Happy Holidays from HUMC Preschool! We are very excited about our holiday season and the conclusion of a very successful fall semester. We hope you re enjoying all of our cheery seasonal art work on the hallway walls - the children love our art projects! We are very grateful for HUMC s support and want to again extend our sincere thanks for the generous donation of the Go Wheelies to the program by those who participated in the Fall Blood Drive. We ve been asked quite a bit about how they work and promise a demonstration soon. We are fortunate to have had a successful year here at the preschool and are thrilled to have been able to add a new set of playground equipment last spring. We are currently beginning the plans for Phase II of the new playground equipment, with the goal of adding a few custom playhouses this spring - this will be when the Go Wheelies will really get a workout! We recently held a Wine, Cheese and Chit-Chat Mom s Night Out fundraiser that raised just over $200 towards the project. Look for more information on both our fundraising efforts and playhouse plans this winter. The Preschool is also pleased to announce that, because of our recent successes, we are able to increase our yearly pledge to the church - up 12% in 2015 from last year s giving. Our registration packets for the school year will be available in early January for all church members and returning students. We are excited to be offering some new and different programming options - some of which have already been successfully implemented in For more information on our programs, please contact Meg Stone directly at humcpreschool1@live.com. Finally, if you would to experience a great big dose of holiday cheer, please join our Preschoolers for their Christmas Program on Wednesday, December 17th at 9:15 a.m. in the Sanctuary. All of the 2s, 3s and 4s classes join in - between the festive outfits, the ebullient singing and the giggles and waves during the performances, we guarantee you ll leave feeling touched by the holiday spirit! Thank you to the entire congregation of HUMC for your unwavering support of the Preschool Program. We wish you all a blessed holiday season. Merry Christmas! Jennifer Dean Preschool Board President 9

10 HUMC s local unit of United Methodist Women is comprised of three CIRCLES that meet the 2 nd Thursday, September through May. Circles are a time for spiritual growth, mission & service activities and food & fellowship. We would love to have you join us! For questions, please call Mrs. Vivian Miner, Membership or read more on our HUMW page. December Calendar: 4th 9:30 a.m. UMW Board Meeting Fireside Room 8 th Installation of Officers and Christmas Program Sanctuary 11 th UMW Circles meet 9:00 a.m. Mary Circle Program: Bring cookies for Cookie Exchange and packing cookies for seniors served by HCS. Hostess: Carole Feagler 1:00 p.m. Priscilla Circle (Fireside Room) Program: Pack Christmas Cookies for Hinsdale Community Services Co-hostesses: Diane Eident & El Lober 7:00 p.m. Lydia Circle Program: Christmas Celebration/grab bag gift exchange Hostess: Karen Tate Co-Hostess: Shirley Steward Looking ahead: UMW Sunday and All-Church Potluck is January 18th The Remembrance Tree The HUMC Remembrance Tree will again find a place in our Narthex. The tree is put up annually and decorated completely with ornaments that honor friends or family members who have died. Purchase ornaments from the UMW for $10 to honor your loved ones. We will provide a gold pen for you to inscribe their name or we can do it for you. This year s sale runs from November 30 th through December 21 st. After the holidays, ornaments are stored us use again next year. You can honor your loved ones for years to come. Names on the ornament as well as the donor s name are being collected in a memory book. 10