Christmas Love. Celebrate the Season at First United Methodist. Oh, Come Let Us Adore Him! DECEMBER, 2016

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1 DECEMBER, 2016 Rev. Steve Goodier Senior Pastor Rev. Jeremiah Harris Associate Pastor Patty Gregory Office Manager Ann Kessler Family Ministries Mary Hannon Business Manager Laura Morgan Family Ministries Assistant Judith Pearson Organist David Dunbar Chancel Choir and Praise Team Director Susan Harding Bell Choir Director 533 Grant Ave. Loveland, CO phone: (970) Office hours: M -Thurs. 8:30am - 3:30pm Friday: 8:30am - 12:00pm office@fumcloveland.com website: Find us on Facebook at: First United Methodist Church Loveland Rev. Steve Goodier s steveg@fumcloveland.com cell: Rev. Jeremiah Harris revjeremiah@fumcloveland.com cell: Christmas Love Celebrate the Season at First United Methodist November 27-4:00pm Hanging of the Greens and Soup Supper December 4-7:00am Methodist Men s Holiday Jazz Concert December 10-9:00am-1:00pm Parent s Time Out December 10-9:00-11:00am Cookie Jar December 11 - Morning Worship Guest Preacher Bishop Karen Oliveto December 17 - Departures at 4:30, 5:00, 5:30, 6:00pm Journey to the Nativity December 18-9:30 and 11:00 Worship Services Choir Cantata - The Winter Rose December 24-4:00, 7:00 and 9:00pm Christmas Eve Candlelighting Services December 25-10:00am Christmas Morning Worship Oh, Come Let Us Adore Him!

2 Times Of Worship SUNDAYS 8:30am Traditional Service 9:45am Praise Worship 11:00am Traditional Service Worship Schedule for December, 2016 December 4 - Tis the season...of hope December 11 - Guest preacher: Bishop Karen Oliveto December 18 - Two services only: 9:30 and 11:00 What do you want for Christmas? Page 2 and, Choir Christmas Cantata The Winter Rose December 24 - Christmas Eve Services 4:00pm 7:00pm 9:00pm December 25 - Christmas Day Service 10:30am Christmas Surprises THE PASTOR S PEN Let me say thank you for your generous response to our stewardship campaign this year. We re still waiting for a few pledges to come in, but we are in line to meet our 2017 budget. Your generosity is needed, appreciated... and amazing. This has been a good year at First UMC. We have many new members. We ve expanded our ministry with Truscott Elementary School and Bill Reed Middle School. Holy Happy Hour is growing. Our children s Sunday School classes are growing once again. We installed new AV equipment. I think that just about every area of our church, from music and worship to education to missions and outreach to church administration is healthy and vital. Our staff is doing an outstanding job they are dedicated and a joy to work with. I can t tell you how wonderful it is to be your pastor. Bev and I feel so blessed to be a part of the FUMC family. And now we are entering a sacred time of the year Advent and Christmas. I hope you will find time to take care of your soul this December. I also hope that the church can help. The first Sunday of Advent is November 27. Our children and youth will present a Hanging of the Greens program at 4:00 PM followed by a soup supper. On December 11 Bishop Karen Oliveto will preach. (She s an excellent preacher, by the way.) I know you will be inspired by her message. We will worship at 9:30 and 11:00 AM only. The following Saturday (December 17) you may want to journey to Bethlehem as someone from the Middle Ages might have done. The journeys depart at 4:30, 5:00 and 5:30 PM. (More information in this issue.) Then on Sunday, December 18, our choir will present a Christmas cantata at 9:30 and 11:00 AM (again, no 8:30 worship). Christmas Eve candle-lighting services take place this year at 4:00, 7:00 and 9:00 PM. And Christmas is on Sunday! We will have only one service Christmas Day, at 10:30. It will be a kid-oriented family Christmas possibly in Coy Hall around tables with cookies and hot chocolate. This is also a season in which we especially support other groups: House of Neighborly Service Christmas boxes; HNS angel tree; Salvation Army bell ringing and more. All of this isn t to make you feel busier, but to give you various opportunities you can choose from opportunities to feed your soul in joyful worship, fun with your church family and in sharing with others. You can t do everything, but pick what fits you best as you make your church an important part of your celebration. May this be your best Christmas ever. Rev. Steve Rev. Steve Goodier

3 FUMC NEWS METHODIST MEN S HOLIDAY JAZZ CONCERT Come and enjoy Christmas Jazz music while having breakfast provided by Methodist Men s Fellowship. It won t be Breakfast at Brennen s but very close. Gil Garcia will be the trumpet player extraordinaire accompanied by our special pianist Judy Pearson. We expect a large crowd so mark your calendar for Sunday, December 4 at 7:00am in Coy Hall. Start your Christmas season with good fellowship, a great breakfast and an entertaining program. Everyone is welcome! JOURNEY TO THE NATIVITY SATURDAY, DECEMBER 17 And the angel said, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And you shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger Luke 2: Throughout the centuries, the miraculous Nativity story has been told and retold. This Christmas season, experience it in the form of a 30-minute journey. Travel across continents and time to medieval Europe, from where you ll witness a series of live scenes. December 17, 2016 Celebrate Christmas through a live Nativity story! Travel to medieval Europe via a 30-minute journey on foot. Visit the stable, watch as the shepherds and Magi arrive to worship the newborn baby Jesus and witness the angels rejoice in song. After the journey, enjoy the hospitality extended to travelers and pilgrims, as all are invited to share a simple meal. Departures at 4:30, 5:00, 5:30 and 6:00 pm Everyone is Welcome! The event is free and open to the public. Wheelchair and pushchair accessible. Dress warmly! First United Methodist Church 533 N. Grant Loveland Doors open at 4:10pm. Enter on the south side at Lobby Court. Plan to arrive at least 10 minutes before a departure time. There will be light from lanterns, but you may like to bring a flashlight to light your path. CALENDARS FOR SALE The United Methodist Women have 2017 calendars for sale. These calendars sell for $6.00 and make lovely Christmas gifts. They are available at the 2017 ALTAR FLOWER CALENDAR SIGN-UP The 2017 Altar Flower Calendar is now available. It is located on the bulletin board in the main hallway to the church office. Each Sunday our altar is enhanced by a lovely floral arrangement provided by our members in honor or memory of loved ones or in celebration of a birthday, anniversary, or special occasion. Choose a date on the calendar and provide your name and phone number. You will be contacted a few weeks before about the flower arrangement and bulletin information. Call Virginia Brant at if you have any questions. Thank You to all of you who have provided flowers in It is greatly appreciated! Page 3

4 FUMC NEWS Opportunities for Giving this Christmas Season... IT S TIME TO ORDER CHRISTMAS POINSETTIAS! There are two Sundays left to order your poinsettias to adorn the sanctuary; Sunday, December 4 and Sunday, December 11. Each plant is $10.00 and will come with a gold foil pot cover. An order form will be in the worship bulletins on both of these Sundays. Please make your check payable to FUMC and in the memo section write poinsettias. Place your check and order form in the offering plate or take it to the church office during weekly office hours. Order forms are also available at the Ask Me Desk and in the church office for your convenience. Cookie Bakers & Shoppers Needed! Drop Off: December 9, anytime Cookie Jar: December 10, 9:00 11:00am The Cookie Jar ~ FUMC Christmas Bake Sale! Each year we make and sell over 200 dozen fancy Christmas cookies to benefit the youth mission fund. To make this event a success, we need everyone s help. We are currently in need of: Bakers! Donate pretty homemade cookies or candy. Sign up at the Ask Me Desk! Shoppers! You can support the youth by shopping at the Cookie Jar. The price for cookies this year is $7/lb. Several varieties of popcorn will also be on sale perfect gifts for postal workers, hair dressers, teachers... Page 4

5 FUMC NEWS CHRISTMAS OFFERING Our Christmas offering this year will make an impact on many lives. One third will go for supplies for the Guatemala Mission Trip. This year those going on the trip will be building a home for Petronila and a wall at the Caserio Rosario Elementary School. Petronila is a widow of three years with two daughters and a son. One of the daughters has multiple physical disabilities. Petronila works in the market twice a week and makes a living weaving palms for straw hats. Currently the family is renting a room in a home and living conditions are extremely poor. At the public school at Caserio Rosario, Lemoa, a wall is needed to keep children safe. Participants on the mission team pay their own expenses. There is a 24 person team going to Guatemala (including 16 from our church) who will be serving through Pura Vida, a Denver nonprofit, which is an approved Advance Special project of the global United Methodist Church. You can visit their website at Another third will go to TRI The Reentry Project. Rev. Kristi Hornick, a member of our church, is directing this new project which will be based in Longmont. After working with Prison Ministries, Kristi has a vision to help women who are transitioning from incarceration to living back in their communities returning citizens. The mission statement of the Initiative is to empower women transitioning from incarceration to achieve behavioral change using evidence-based methods and spiritual growth. This will be a phased approach which will provide reentry services (food, clothing, employment coaching, transportation, mental health and relapse prevention treatment) and supportive transitional housing. Donna Pewo, our missionary working with Native American children and youth and their families in Clinton, Oklahoma has just announced the Clinton Indian Church and Community Center Building Fund. In order for the ministry there to grow, meeting space for youth and storage space for supplies is greatly needed. Adding two rooms will allow full usage of the sanctuary for worship services. This fund will receive one sixth of the offering. The final sixth of the offering will go to the Loveland Salvation Army. The Salvation Army opened an office in Loveland this past year. They take referrals from churches and work with walk-ins, offering emergency food and hygiene supplies, bus tokens, emergency housing, spiritual guidance and other forms of assistance. They are also providing the leadership to initiate a One Community, One Family program for homeless families in Loveland. Gift from the Heart to a Heart! Page 5

6 FUMC MINISTRY More Giving Opportunities... SALVATION ARMY BELL RINGING Bell Ringing with your family for the Salvation Army. Sign-up for a shift at the Ask Me Desk. SUPPORT FAMILIES IN NEED FUMC is again helping area families in need this Christmas, partnering with House of Neighborly Service and Prison Fellowship to sponsor families. Thank you for continuing this strong tradition! Ideas and reminders Deliver all Angel Tree gifts to church by Sunday, December 4. Give a SPECIAL OFFERING (marked Christmas food baskets ) to provide a Christmas dinner meal for a low-income senior or HNS family. Our goal is to collect $3,500. Sign up at the Ask Me Desk to DELIVER food baskets and gifts on Saturday, December 10. Because many of our Christmas meal recipients are seniors, consider sharing a few minutes of your time to visit as well. Questions or to volunteer call Terry Cline (970) ANGEL HOUSE FUMC will host Angel House guests the week of December 4. Our church members help set up, host, prepare meals and more. For information about how to help, please contact Roger Williams at (970) OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD The opportunity to put together a shoebox has passed, but FUMC is proud to announce that we collected 102 shoeboxes for operation Christmas Child. Since 1993, the Samaritan s Purse project, Operation Christmas Child, has collected and delivered more than 135 million gift-filled shoeboxes to children in more than 150 countries and territories. Thank you to all our members who participated in this worthy endeavor! If you still wish to make a donation to this cause, visit samaritanspurse.org. Page 6

7 CHILDREN S MINISTRY PUPPETS AND SUNDAY SCHOOL Kindergarten through 6th grade kids are invited to join the puppets up in the coliseum on the 2nd flood of the education wing on Sunday mornings after the 8:30am Children s Message. Linda Marcinkowski will lead you in fun, telling Bible stories using the puppets. On December 11, our new Bishop will be preaching. The special service times will be 9:30am and 11:00am. There will be puppet ministry during the 9:30am service. December 18, attend the 9:30am or 11:00am service and enjoy listening to the Christmas Cantata put on by the Chancel Choir. No Sunday school on that day. December 25th come at 10:30am for a fun family service. January 1: Worship at 9:30am or 11:00am. No Sunday school that day. Parents Time Out PARENTS TIME OUT Parents, do you need a day out to get your Christmas shopping done? On December 10 from 9:00am-1:00pm our awesome nursery staff will offer daycare so you can prepare for the holidays. Please register with Ann Kessler at or her at akessler@fumcloveland.com. CLUB 345 The kids at Club 345 would like to thank everyone that donated animals for their stuffed animal drive for the Children s Hospital. They donated 51 animals. Kane Kenders, Hayden Berdahl, Molly Kenders, Rayce Harrison, & Julianne Henry On Sunday, December 4 from 2:00-4:00pm come help decorate a Christmas tree and deliver it to Brookhaven and then entertain the residents with some Christmas Carols. Page 7

8 YOUTH MINISTRY REVIVE SENIOR HIGH YOUTH GROUP DECEMBER ACTIVITIES December 3: Bell ringing for the Salvation Army at Sam s Club from 9:00am-1:30pm. Sign up for a shift. December 4: Youth Fellowship from 4:00-6:00pm - A case for Faith led by Charles. December 9: Set up for Christmas Cookie Jar fundraiser at 3:30pm. December 10: Work the Cookie Jar from 8:30-11:00am. December 11: No Sunday school. Come listen to Bishop Karen Oliveto at 9:30am or 11:00am. Youth Fellowship from 4:00-6:00pm- A Case for Faith led by Charles. December 16: Christmas Party from 6:00-8:00pm at Ann s house, 8220 Turman Ct., Fort Collins - Bring a snack to share and a white elephant gift under $ December 18: No Sunday school- Enjoy the musical Cantata performed by the Chancel Choir at 9:30am or 11:00am. Youth Fellowship from 4:00-6:00pm - A Case for Faith led by Charles. December 24: Come to a Christmas Eve service at 4:00pm, 7:00pm, or 9:00pm. December 25: Join us at 10:30am for a family service. Merry Christmas! No evening youth group. Y.E.S. - YOUTH ETERNALLY SERVING MID HIGH YOUTH GROUP DECEMBER ACTIVITIES December 3: Bell ringing for the Salvation Army at Sam s Club from 9:00am-1:30pm. Sign up for a shift. December 4: Youth Fellowship from 4:00-6:00pm - A Case for Faith led by Charles. December 9: Christmas Party from 6:00-8:00pm at Ella Berdahl s house, 1809 Moonstone Ct. - Bring a snack to share and a white elephant gift under $ December 11: No Sunday school - Come listen to Bishop Karen Oliveto at 9:30am or 11:00am. Youth Fellowship from 4:00-6:00pm - A Case for Faith led by Charles. December 17: Journey to the Nativity from 4:30-6:30pm. Come enjoy the show! December 18: No Sunday school - Enjoy the musical Cantata performed by the Chancel Choir at 9:30am or 11:00am. Youth Fellowship from 4:00-6:00pm - A Case for Faith led by Charles. December 24:Come to a Christmas Eve service at 4:00pm, 7:00pm, or 9:00pm. December 25: Join us at 10:30am for a family service. Merry Christmas! No evening youth group. Page 8

9 YOUTH MINISTRY CHILE COOK-OFF WINNERS The Chili Cook-Off and Trunk R Treat was a great success. The Mid High youth serving chili, while in their Halloween costumes, added to the festivity. The youth raised $ toward their summer mission trip. Thank you everyone who entered a chili in our cook-off. I m sure it was hard for the judges to pick the winners. We had 13 chilies entered. A big Thank You goes to Mark Kessler, Steve Goodier, Jeremiah Harris, and Sue Lussenhop who had the task of tasting all those entries. Join us next year for the 5th Annual Cook-Off. I have a feeling the competition is going to be HOT!!! At Left: Best overall and People s Choice Sandy Stever, (Lara Watson) Most Creative Ann Kessler At Right: Most Creative Rose McQueen 2016 IGNITE SPIRITUAL RETREAT AT BUCKHORN CAMP The Senior High spent the weekend at the Buckhorn Methodist Camp at the Rocky Mountain Conference Methodist Senior High Retreat. It was a weekend away from phones, computers and homework to focus on God, prayer and reconnecting to nature and one another. Our theme for the weekend was IGNITE and Unite the Flame! We spent the time rotating between music, our keynote speaker, A.J. Bush and small groups. Much time was spent in a prayer walk and fellowshipping with the youth of other churches as well as discussing the topic of the weekend-uniting the Rocky Mountain Conference and Yellowstone Conference into the Mountain Sky Conference. We ended Saturday night with a lip-sync battle and our Matt Utley took second place with his Carrie Underwood medley and an awesome Hoe Down doing the Virginia Reel and Patty Cake Polka among other dances. We took time to really listen to what God is saying to us. Thank you for your prayers for us during our journey. Front Row: Mike Fanning Cassie Fanning, Lauryn Simon, Taleah Toso, Katie Seja. Second Row: Mariah Diediker, Abbi Flaming, Britta Wenman, Ann Kessler, Lara Watson, Peter Hrechny, Charles Diediker, Ben Clegern, Matthew Utley, Matthew Wlodarchak, Bryn Morgan, Bailey Williams ATTENTION MID & SENIOR HIGH YOUTH ADD TO YOUR CALENDAR: YOUTH LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE (YLC) Open to 6th-12th grade, Youth Leadership Conference or YLC is our youth legislative session for the Rocky Mountain Conference. At this event, we make decisions on new pieces of legislation and vote in new representatives from churches to be a part of the Conference Council on Youth Ministries. This board is made up of youth from all over the conference and meets 4-6 times per year to make decisions about youth activities like Ignite, YLC, Youth Quest, YSF (Youth Service Fund) and more. Recently, YLC has had a service component as well. We have fun and fellowship through our keynote speaker, worship bands, small groups, and through our engagement with the communities around us. This conference is: January at First United Methodist Church in Cheyenne. Page 9

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