Holly Calvary UMC. A Life-Giving Church Connecting people to people and people to Jesus through the power of life-giving relationships.

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1 Holly Calvary UMC A Life-Giving Church Connecting people to people and people to Jesus through the power of life-giving relationships. December 2018 Newsletter Dec 1 Hanging of the Greens Dec 8 Cookie Walk Dec 16 Cantata Dec 18 Blood Drive Dec 24 Christmas Eve Worship 4pm & 11pm Pastor: Clifford Schroeder Ph voice or text Greetings Holly Calvary Family, In the Gospel of John, Jesus says; I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. The greatest thing we need in our lives this Christmas season; the things we need in every season of our lives, is to know that God is with us. At its center, this is the message of Christmas; Emmanuel God With Us. Jesus is not only the Baby born in Bethlehem. He is also the Son of Almighty God, sent to redeem us, to save us from the power of sin. Christ is the missing piece to life. Without Him, we possess a void that cannot be satisfied by anything else. Things of this world may seem to satisfy for a time, but the void will always return. They feel as though they fill the void, but soon their empty promises are found out. And we are left with the decaying remains that only serve to remind us of how empty we truly are. From this point, where the void is deafening in its proclamation of our emptiness, some attempt to drown out the voice with busyness and noise. Yet, the voice only speaks louder. With Christ Jesus, we find the completion of how we were designed to be in relationship with Almighty God. The child of Bethlehem is now enthroned Christ of all Creation. His love, grace, and salvation give hope to us. This is the message of Christmas. The light we long for is the Light we have been given. If we will simply accept the light into our lives, we will find the void filled to overflowing. And from that place, we discover that we have a heavenly Father who loves, treasures, and values us beyond measure. Blessings in Christ, Pastor Cliff 1

2 ANNOUNCEMENTS Christmas Card Delivery GIFT Circle will be delivering Christmas cards to church members again this year! Put your Christmas cards in the mailbox in the hallway. Please only bring cards for those who attend church. Remember to stop by each week to get cards addressed to you! Put the money you would have spent on stamps in the blue jar. All money will be donated to the food pantry! Thank you for your support of this ministry! WINTER STEP-UP BLOOD DRIVE Mega Kids is working with Michigan Blood on December 18 t! Mega Kids will receive $10 for each successful donation. Please come and give. If you cannot give blood, would you consider coming and helping with the food, set-up, cleanup, be a table host or calling people to make appointments? We need several volunteers to make this blood drive successful. Call Ellen Pease at Poinsettias are Coming! It s time to decorate our church as well as honor our loved ones with the purchase of poinsettia plants. These plants will be used to adorn our sanctuary during the week of Christmas. They may be taken home after the Christmas Eve service you attend. We will be taking orders Sunday, Nov. 25 th through Sunday, Dec. 9 th. The price of each plant is $ Order forms can be found in a basket of envelopes on the table in the narthex. Fill out your form and return it to the envelope with payment and drop it in the offering plate. Please contact Dawn Rogers if you have any questions. Saturday, December 1 at 10:30am Jacobson Quinn Accepting new toys from ages birth to 18 Place in bin in the hall. Pick up will be Dec. 7 th. Board games are great! Please no DVDs or video games. Wrapping Paper, Tags & Tape are appreciated. Saturday 8:30am December 12:00pm 8 th Craft sales begins at 8:30am with the cookie walk starting at 9am. Cookies will be $10 a box. Remember to come early! The Cookies go fast! We pray that you will support us by baking cookies and coming to shop. For cookie information contact Brenda at Crafters call Julia at The Gift of the Nutcracker: Take a look at this Christmas classic in a new way through the lens of faith. In this fourweek Advent study, Rawle uses the iconic tale to help us understand God s greatest gift of the Christ child and of the kingdom Christ came to build. 2

3 with Bishop Bard Saturday, November 29 th at First UMC in Ann Arbor at 7pm & Saturday, December 6 th at Area Ministry Center in Lansing at7pm Love Transcending Cantata December 16 th December 31st & January 1st December 24 th 4pm & 11pm December Greeters 2 Jeff & Michelle Smith 9 Glen & Christi Carpenter 16 Rock & Lisa Lindsay 23 Guy & MaryJane Winohradsky 30 Dave & Rachel Ray PRAISES Our food pantry is doing great! We served 36 families and 97 individuals in October. Thank you to those who donated non-perishable food items, paper and hygiene products during our monthly ingathering. Our pantry ingatherings are on the 4 th Sunday of each month. Our next one will be the third week, December 16 th. We are in need of pasta sauce, juice, crackers, cereal, one can meals, pasta mixes and feminine hygiene products. There are no income requirements to use the food pantry. If you are in need and would like to utilize the food pantry, please come Mon-Thurs from 9:00 2:00 p.m. Each person may come twice per month and receive two bags of food, plus one toilet paper, paper towel & detergent. 3 Jim Diegel Merry Christmas to my church family. Thank you for another great year. Thank you to worship people who play music. Welcome to Jan our choir director. Mega Kids keep growing every Wednesday nights. A special thank you to Pastor Cliff if you need prayer for something he is right there with you. Enjoy the partys with friends and family. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. 11 Doug Dingwall 15 Sue Rigoulot 20 David Nickels 22 Barb Casey 28 Rock Lindsay 29 Valerie Kral

4 GROUPS The United Methodist Women met on November with 14 women in attendance. Thanks to everyone who supported the Craft Auction, either by making something, working, or coming to buy! Our next meeting will be on Monday, Dec. 3 rd at the Holly McDonalds at 1pm. Holly Methodist Men Next meeting dates: Dec. 1, Jan. 5, Feb. 2 All Holly Calvary men and friends are invited to come to our monthly meetings the first Saturday of each month at 8 am at Villagers Restaurant in Holly. We will discuss current projects, purchases, and other business. Contact Ron Pease at for more information. Library Corner Judy Woods FEATURES One Wintry Night- by Ruth Bell Graham A boy with two dogs gets lost in a storm and finds refuge in his Grandfathers cabin where an older woman nurtures him and cares for his sprained ankle. During his stay she tells him the Christmas story that begins with creation and ends with the resurrection. This is a wonderful story about the whole story of Jesus Christ especially His birth. In Search of Christmas- by Ideals Editors Psalms and hymns are paired with scripture and complementary artwork and illustrations to show that the search for Christmas does not begin on the day of the His birth but in the beginning of Genesis. The love of Jesus Christ is portrayed through every page with verses, song or story and incredible artwork by amazing artists like Federica Baarocci and Simon Vouet. Have a Merry Christmas and a joyous new year. May God bless you your sister in Christ Judy Wood Order your Christmas and Holiday Gift Cards NOW. Don t be caught empty handed! This is a fundraiser for our church. The profit from scrip is donated back to our church ministries. We can order gift cards for most major department stores, discount stores, restaurants, gas stations plus CVS, Rite Aid, Walgreens, Wendy s, Meijer, Subway, Marathon, Walmart, Target, VG s and more. Call or talk to Ron Pease for more information at

5 JANET ROSENCRANTZ It has been a while since I wrote about someone in our congregation. It is now such a privilege to write about Janet, our new music director. She was born on March 26 in Flint MI. She has one sister living in Colorado and one brother who is deceased. Janet grew up on an 80 acre farm with riding horses and all the small farm charm, including 4H activities. Janet went to school in Flint until 3 rd grade and then moved to Gaines for grades 4-7. Her last years, grades 8-12, were spent at Swartz Creek. Her favorite subject was music throughout her life. She started playing the piano around age 8. Later, her life revolved around singing alto in the chorus and playing the drums in the marching band. Some of her hobbies included sewing her own dresses and coats as well as cooking and baking. Janet had many jobs, beginning in high school. She played the organ at the Howell UMC at 14, till graduation. She also was the candy girl at the Ben Franklin Store. Upon graduation, she studied music at Mott Community College for 2 years. However, she did not like it, so she turned to social work. In 1973 she was hired at the GM Flint Assembly Plant, where she stayed for 34 yrs. Janet s 1 st marriage lasted 7 yrs. She became engaged again. However, her fiancée died tragically a few weeks before their wedding. His mother was an inspiration for Janet. When she asked- why him- his mother replied - why not him. She taught Janet to be gracious. She feels that after this, she can handle anything. Janet met her present husband, Roy, in 1997, at work. They will celebrate 21 happy years this December. He is a very happy person. His favorite expression is wasn t that a little bit of bad luck, even when it was a little more serious. They have 2 children. One son lives in Flint with his wife and a boy and girl ( ) and a stepson, who lives in Colorado with his wife and 2 active children (5+8). Janet loves change and is very open. She has worked at several churches, such as Charity UM in Flint, United Church of Christ in Owosso for 5 years and Asbury UMC in Lansing, as music director, for 3 years. We were so fortunate that she answered our call after Chelsea left. We can see her passion for church music. She feels that anyone can sing! Janet loves being a member of our church family and feels like she belongs here. Her husband is now retired and enjoys to golf and go bow hunting. During those times, Janet loves to travel, especially to New York s Broadway shows. Janet began the bell choir and also has many plans for our music program. She also likes old country, so watch out for some toe tapping fun time. We are looking forward to the Christmas Cantata, since Janet arranged to have the Davisburg UMC Choir join our choir. We so enjoy her enthusiasm. It is catching! We thank God for bringing Janet into our Calvary church family and ask God to bless her and husband Roy! We are truly blessed! 5

6 MINISTRIES OF THE CHURCH Mega Kids is working with Michigan Blood on December 18 th! Mega Kids will receive $10 for each successful donation. Please come and give. If you cannot give blood, would you consider coming and helping with the food, set-up, clean-up, table host or calling people to make appointments? We need several volunteers to make this blood drive successful. We had such a wonderful time baking cookies with you. Thanks for sharing your life with us. We decided at our last meeting that we would have our Winter Party in January, so look for those white elephants. Merry Christmas to you all. May Christ be with you this Christmas. Love in Christ Sharri and Douglas Direct your Dollars Help us earn $1, If you shop at VG s, please save your receipts! Bring them in, put them into the box in the hallway and VG s will donate money to our Mega Kids program! Contact Barb Nickels for questions. Kroger Rewards Holly Calvary Church is part of the Kroger rewards program. Our account number is By using your Kroger Plus card, a percentage of each purchase goes to our Mega Kids program. Contact Barb Nickels or Ellen Pease for information. 6 OF PRAYER Tuesday mornings 11 am to Noon Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name! John 12:27-28 Whatever God asks, we should do His will and bring glory to His name just as Jesus did! This month a very important prayer for us is for lost souls. Pray for this and other concerns and to praise God during Hour of Prayer ministry 11am noon Tuesdays. Call Mary Jane Winodradsky with any questions at Prayer Quilt Ministry meets the third Monday of each month. Join us to iron, pin quilt layers, sew in ties, give advice and enjoy fellowship. Questions call Mary Jane at or Julia at A special thank you to all the people who helped us with our Thanksgiving food baskets! We were able to help 10 families in our community. Our regular meeting on Dec. 16 th is cancelled. Our GIFT Circle Christmas party will be Sun. Dec. 2 nd at 6:00 p.m. at Barb Nickels house. Bring a snack to share and a $15-20 gift to exchange. Jr. High Youth Ministry Bring Em, Build Em, Send Em! Thursdays 3:00-4:30pm

7 December 2018 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 Holly Methodist Men's breakfast meeting 8:00 AM - 9:00 AM LEAD Team 9:00 AM Hanging of the Greens 10:30 AM Calvary Hall & Kitchen Reserved 1:00 PM - 8:00 PM 2 Holy Communion 9 16 Newsletter articles due. Christmas Cantata Reserved 12:00 PM - 6:00 PM G.I.F.T. Circle (Growing In Faith Together) 12:15 PM 23 In-Gathering Sunday 30 3 UMW (United Methodist Women) 1:00 PM Trustees 7:00 PM 10 Faith Pathways Worship Committee 7:30 PM 17 Prayer Quilt Ministry 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM SPRC 7:00 PM 24 Christmas Eve Christmas Eve Candlelight Worship 4:00 PM Christmas Eve Candlelight Worship 11:00 PM 31 New Year's Eve 4 An Hour of Prayer Ministry - 12:00 PM Bell Choir - 7:30 PM 11 An Hour of Prayer Ministry - 12:00 PM Bell Choir - 7:30 PM 18 An Hour of Prayer Ministry - 12:00 PM Community-wide Blood Drive 1:00 PM - 7:00 PM Bell Choir - 7:30 PM 25 Christmas 5 MEGA Kids 4:30 PM - 7:00 PM - 7:15 PM 12 MEGA Kids 4:30 PM - 7:00 PM - 7:15 PM 19 MEGA Kids 4:30 PM - 7:00 PM - 7:15 PM 26 Mega Kids - Canceled - 7:15 PM 6 7 Reserved A.A. - G.O.D. Big 8:00 AM - 8:00 PM Get 2 Get To 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM Chancel Choir Practice 7:30 PM - 8:30 PM 13 A.A. - G.O.D. Big Get 2 Get To Chancel Choir Practice 7:30 PM - 8:30 PM 20 A.A. - G.O.D. Big Get 2 Get To Chancel Choir Practice 7:30 PM - 8:30 PM 27 A.A. - G.O.D. Big Get 2 Get To 14 Mitten Tree - Girl Scouts 5:30 PM - 8:00 PM 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM 21 First Day of Winter (December Solstice) 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM 28 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM 8 Annual Cookie Walk & Craft Show 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM 15 Reserved 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM