SWARTHMORE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH 129 Park Avenue, Swarthmore, PA

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1 SWARTHMORE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH 129 Park Avenue, Swarthmore, PA December 2017 From the Pastor: Among the Jews who celebrate Passover, there is a tradition of saving a seat at their Seder feast for Elijah, the prophet who is supposed to bring the news that the Messiah has finally come. At a poignant moment in the service, the door is flung open for Elijah and everyone falls silent with anticipation. For thousands of years that door has been opened, and for thousands of years all that has entered has been the wind. One Hasidic story tells of a pious Jew who asked his rabbi, For about forty years I have opened the door for Elijah every Seder night, waiting for him to come, but he never does. What is the reason? The rabbi answered, In your neighborhood there lives a very poor family with many children. Call on the man and propose to him that you and your family celebrate the next Passover at his house, and for this purpose provide him and his whole family with everything necessary for the eight days of Passover. Then on the Seder night Elijah will certainly come. The man did as the rabbi told him, but after Passover he came back and claimed that again he had waited in vain to see Elijah. The rabbi answered, I know very well that Elijah came on the Seder night to the house of your poor neighbor. But of course you could not see him. And the rabbi held a mirror before the face of the man and said, Look, this was Elijah s face that night. What s Inside Pastor s Message Serving Schedule 2 Events & Groups 3 Worship & Notes 3 Faith & Life 3 Tree Lighting And Carol Sing 4 Outreach Notes 5 Book Club 5 Finance Notes 6 In this season of waiting and anticipation, let us mirror Christ s love and grace to those who are in great need this day. Then our waiting will never be in vain and we will see Christ in our midst! Have a blessed Advent season and Christmas! Love and Peace, Sukja

2 Thank You for Your Service! Readers: December 3: Children s Message: December 31: Ushers: December 3: December 24: December 31: Fellowship: December 3: December 24: December 31: Counters: First Sunday Second Sunday Third Sunday Fourth Sunday Fifth Sunday Altar Flowers: December 3: December 24: December 31: Sue Kelly Penni Flick Nanette Tobin Rich Cresson Janice Ciampa Sukja Bang Andy Lewis and Bev Stewart Cresson Family Linton Stables and Greg Brown Stewart Family Rick Valelly and David Page Sheila Bell and Mary Drott Stephens Family Nanette Tobin Ciampa Family Ciampa Family Andy Lewis and Marion Purdy Rick Sultzer and Hogie Hansen Bill Flick and Harriet Hudgins Barb Weir and Charlie Hoover Bill Flick and Harriet Hudgins In Loving Memory of James Patterson by his family In Loving Memory of Wilma Mosholder by Alison Masterpasqua In Loving Memory of Eric Cederstrom by the Ciampa family In Loving Memory of F. Joan Flick by Penni Flick & Bill Flick In Honor of Johnathan s 16th Birthday on 12/28 by his parents Rich and Donna Cresson Please call Peggy Mattox at the church office ( ) to let her know if/when you cannot serve on the date for which you signed up so that a substitute may be arranged. 2

3 Please join us for the following events: All the World s a Stage Theater Groups at SUMC MARPLE-NEWTOWN PLAYERS SPOTLIGHT THEATER Performances at Swarthmore UMC UPCOMING EVENTS AT SUMC December 2: December 13: December 12: December 19: December 20: December 24: December 25: Home for the Holidays Tree Lighting and Carol Sing, 7pm Book Club, Sheila Bell s home, 7:30pm Finance Committee meeting, 7:30pm Caller Deadline PBJ Night, 7:45pm Nativity Service at 10 am and Nine Lessons and Carols/Candle Light Service at 8pm Christmas ============================================== Deadline for the December Caller is Tuesday, December 19th Be sure and let the Church office know about any events you would like published WORSHIP NOTES December 3 Isa. 64:1-9, Psalm 80:1-7, 1 Cor. 1:3-9, Mark 13:24-37 December 10 Isa. 40:1-11, Ps. 85:1-2, 8-13, 2 Pet. 3:8-15a, Mark 1:1-8 December 17 Isa. 61:1-4, 8-11, Ps. 126, 1 Thess. 5:16-24, John 1:6-8, December 24 2 Sam. 7:1-11, 16, Luke 1:47-55, Rom. 16:25-27, Luke 1:26-38 December 31 Isa. 61:10-62:3, Ps. 148, Gal. 4:4-7, Luke 2:22-40 Faith and Life Class Faith and Life sessions in December will focus on selected poetry, art and popular music of this joyful time of year. December 3rd: December 10th: December 17th: We explore how poets wordsmith their sentiments of the season. Features artwork inspired by the Madonna and Child. Features our traditional carol sing. There are no Faith and Life sessions on December 24th and 31st. 3

4 Swarthmore United Methodist Church Presents Community Tree Lighting & Carol Singing Saturday December 2nd 7:00 pm129 Park Avenue 4

5 He has showed you, o Mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? Just this: To do Justice; To love Kindness; and to walk, humbly, with your God. OUTREACH Touching Lives for Christ For as much as you have done unto these, you have done unto me. OUTREACH OPPORTUNITIES DECEMBER 2017 We start off the month with our contribution to the Swarthmore Borough Home for the Holidays celebration. Carolers from SUMC will lead the community in singing familiar Christmas songs at the holiday tree lighting on the front lawn of the church at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, December 2. All are welcome. See Nanette Tobin for more information. Then plan to join us for a Grace Café hosting on Sunday, December 3. We anticipate serving 220 guests at Arch Street UMC that evening at 6:00 p.m. We could use donations of greens, rolls, desserts or cash. If you would like to help serve the dinner, we carpool at SUMC at 4:15 p.m. and then head into Arch Street UMC. We are home by 8:00 p.m. PBJ Night will take place on Wednesday, December 20 at 7:45 p.m. The sandwiches made will go to the Life Center of Eastern Delaware County and City Team. Bring two loaves of sliced bread and we will provide the peanut butter and jelly. Light refreshments will be served. We are offering several Alternative Christmas Giving opportunities this year. You may have already seen the collection of items for infants in the narthex. These items will go to City Team as part of their expanded mission. There will also be a hat and mitten tree in the narthex. Bring hats, mittens and gloves for all ages and decorate the tree with them. These will also benefit City Team. And we are also offering a global mission opportunity of purchasing livestock through Heifer Project. For any contribution to Heifer Project of $10 or more you can get a Heifer Project Honor Card to send to a loved one. There will be a table set up in the Centennial Room during Fellowship Hour in December with more information on Heifer Project. Our friends at Grace Café are also in need of volunteers on Christmas Eve, New Year s Eve, and Christmas morning. Although our church is not sending a formal group on those dates, if you would like to volunteer, you can contact the church office directly at Arch Street UMC at It would be an added blessing to start the New Year. SUMC Book Club Dates Meetings are the second Wednesday of each month, at 7:30pm December 13th Book discussion on Grandma Gatewood s Walk, by Ben Montgomery Held at the home of Sheila Bell: 1305 Kendall Road Swarthmore, PA

6 December Finance Committee Update A hearty thanks for all of you who have returned your pledge cards and for those who haven t please do so as soon as you can. The pledge cards greatly assist us in developing our budget for If you find yourself in the nice position of being the beneficiary of the current bull market, donating appreciated securities is a wonderful and tax efficient way to support SUMC. It is a very easy process and several of our members contribute both shares of stock as well as shares of mutual funds. Several members also transfer funds directly out of their IRA s and 401K plans. For transfers, instruct your broker that you wish to make a contribution of number of shares of (stock or fund symbol) to the account of Swarthmore United Methodist Church, Depository Trust Company - - DTC:0062 Account Number: Swarthmore United Methodist Church 129 Park Avenue Swarthmore, PA EIN Thank you, The Finance Committee 6

7 Life Is an Advent Season Connections "Life is a constant Advent season: we are continually waiting to become, to discover, to complete, to fulfill. Hope, struggle, fear, expectation and fulfillment are all part of our Advent experience. "The world is not as just, not as loving, not as whole as we know it can and should be. But the coming of Christ and his presence among us as one of us give us reason to live in hope: that light will shatter the darkness, that we can be liberated from our fears and prejudices, that we are never alone or abandoned. "May this Advent season be a time for bringing hope, transformation and fulfillment into the Advent of our lives." Here are a few suggestions for special gifts: a firm handshake to a shaky soul, a kind word to a lonely person, a warm smile to the disheartened, a sincere concern for someone troubled, a feeling of compassion for the neglected, a comforting thought for the bereaved, a respect for the dignity of others, a defense of the rights of individuals, a word of witness to help a seeking soul, a Merry Christmas to all. Some Special Gifts Source Unknown 7

8 Swarthmore United Methodist Church 129 Park Avenue Swarthmore PA RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED 8