The Beacon. Mountainside. United Methodist Church Connecting People to Jesus. No

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1 Mountainside United Methodist Church Connecting People to Jesus In our world, things are in short supply. We ve heard that the world supply of chocolate is low! Oh no! What will we do? We are told that California grapes are or will be in short supply because of the fires and that will effect the price of wine and juice. Some pharmacies are reporting low stocks of the flu vaccine. In Tanzania, water is in short supply, although it costs only a dime a dime!... to provide water for a family for a day. Can you spare a dime? And that stands in sharp contrast to God s economy, which is one based on plenty. Do you remember those miracles Jesus performed around the Sea of Galilee? He fed four thousand, then he fed five thousand. The disciples complained because they had so little to start with just a few loaves and a couple of fish. But Jesus said, watch this because with God there is plenty. And the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftovers The Beacon No There is plenty of grace, plenty of faith, plenty of forgiveness, plenty of success, plenty of resources, indeed, plenty of love for us all. So, I am going to let you in on a little secret about this church. God has provided all of the resources that this church needs in order to do the ministry that God is calling us to do. God has provided plenty. However, and this is the point, God s resources might still be in your pockets! But, God has provided all of the resources we need. After the season of Christmas giving when we were all in a giving mood, and as we start this new year and the time when you and I are most likely to resolve to make lifestyle changes, let me challenge you to live with an attitude of abundance. God has given us an abundance of ways to proclaim the Good News of Jesus, an abundance of ministry opportunties, an abundance of friends, an abundance of things to be thankful for and ways to be thankful. And God has provided an abundance of resources and ways for us to give. Everyday Mountainside UMC touches the life of someone. Everyday we are making disciples of Jesus Christ. And everyday we have a positive story to tell about the difference this church makes. An abundance mentality means believing that there is plenty out there for everybody and maybe a little more. An abundance mentality believes that the more you give the more you receive. We know this is true with love and kindness and attention and fairness. We would like to believe that it s true with money, too. In his book, God the Economist, Douglas Meeks says that God s system is built on the assumption of plenty. So, will you please consider the ways you give to your church from the abundance God has given you. Consider the ways you help make a difference. Consider the impact we make. Go ahead, give! Give of your time, your talents, your prayers, your service, your witness. And give of your resources. In Christ, Pastor Mills

2 Ignite Calling all Youth, 6th through 12th grade! Join us 5pm 7pm on the first and third Saturdays of every month and ignite your passion for Christ with like-minded peers. All youth can bring a friend to join this growing youth group! We start with dinner at 5 p.m., and enjoy fellowshipping, either adult or youth led devotionals, and a variety of fun activities. Do you know of a youth who has not attended Ignite yet? Pass the word and let them know about us. Yes, adults are welcome to do a devotional for the youth too! Contact Tifani today at or tvincent@mountainsidemethodist.org for more information or to sign up to HOST the next Ignite, either with food or your own devotional. Ongoing Activities Jubilee Band Practice Youth Skate Night Youth Skate Night is a monthly family event held on the last Monday of every month at Roller King for Christian Music Night. We join other youth groups from around the area and take over the skate rink, with lots of room to skate, race, or play tag. Join us January 29th, 6pm-8pm. No RSVP is necessary but inviting others is encouraged. Food and drinks provided. If you would like to sign up for car pool, to chaperone, or to get your youth s entrance and skate rental paid for, please contact Tifani at or at tvincent@mountainsidemethodist.org. Have you been wondering what to do with that musical instrument that seems to take up space in your closet? Now is your chance to increase your closet space and to breathe new life into your instrument. String, percussion, and woodwind instruments and their players are welcome. The Jubilee Band will practice on Wednesday evenings from 5:50-6:30pm, Let s make a joyful noise unto the Lord together! Call Susan if you have any questions. Henderson Mission Fundraiser We are having a Little Cesar s Pizza fundraising program for January and February. We will be taking orders for pizza kits, Italian cheese bread kits, cinnamon loaded crazy bites, chocolate chunk, oatmeal raisin, ultimate fudge, old-fashioned snickerdoodle cookie doughs, and one of a kind s-mores cookie pie. Mountainside will make $6 per kit. The individual kits go for between $18-$24. We will accept credit cards and checks made out to Mountainside UMC. All proceeds will go towards the Henderson Mission trip in May. Look for the Little Cesar s poster set up at the Welcome center. Payment is due when the orders are taken. Kits will be delivered to the church to go in the freezer on January 30 prior to Super Bowl Sunday and on February 13, prior to Upwards final weekend. Call Anne Merkley ( ) or Margaret Langdon ( ) if you have any questions. Albuquerque District United Methodist Women Retreat On Feb. 10 the Albuquerque District United Methodist Women will have a retreat at Mountainside from 9 am to 3pm. Help will be needed for hostessing this event. For questions and to sign up to be a hostess contact Winnie Pearsall winniepearsall@yahoo.com 2

3 Your Whole Life is an up-dated version of 3D that has been successfully helping people learn wellness and weight management principles since This Christ-centered program has helped thousands to develop a healthier relationship with food, and grow their relationship with God and others. It is called 3D for Diet (eating right), Discipline (living well), and Discipleship (loving God). A new 12 week session will begin with a choice of days and locations: Mondays beginning on January 15, at 5:30 PM at WoodsEnd Church in Edgewood (across from Wal-Mart), or on Tuesdays beginning on January 16, at 10:45 AM at Mountainside in the Fellowship Hall. All participants will need to get the book, Open Your Heart: 12 Weeks of Daily Devotions, by Martin Shannon, published by Paraclete Press. It may be ordered from Paraclete Press, Amazon, or another book source. The class will be facilitated by Rev. Linda Mizell. To register for the 3D study call Rev. Mizell at or her at revlindam94@gmail.com. Mission News Updated by Diane Turner December News from the McFredericks in the Czech Republic Please continue to pray for current VISAs for Kerensa and the Kids. Jason has received his. They were able to get bridge VISAs so they are legal while they wait. Praise for their international Thanksgiving dinner as 10 countries were represented including Hindu guests who remarked on the kindness of their hosts. December news from S.E. Coleman S.E. is glad to be in the U.S. for Christmas this year. Pray for her as she leaves December 29th for Guatemala for 3 weeks and gets her kids ready for the 2018 school term. Donations are always appreciated to help pay for their tuitions. New Year s Youth Lock In After serving our beautiful Watch Night Service, 16 youth stayed and enjoyed games and snacks with the adults before jumping in to the Lock-In festivities. Thank you to all the adults who stayed to be judges in our Amazing Race-styled competition. After eight teams of two worked together through the given challenged of this event, we enjoyed a New Year s Eve celebration, a bon fire, lots of games, a movie and finally, breakfast. May 2018 be the year you come closer to God, for each new day is a new start! Praise for opportunities to sell our denim jackets, purses, slippers and key chains to benefit Telma Y Mission. S.E. was able to buy a new car. Praise the Lord! For more information, both letters are posted on the missions bulletin board. 3

4 The Kenyan Children's Choir The Kenyan Children's Choir visited Mountainside on Saturday evening December 17. Tom Abunju, director of the "Connect With a Child" Childrens Home in Kenya, explained the sponsorship program that supports the children at the Home. The choir then presented an outstanding program of native song and dance and invited the audience to participate 4

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6 Praise Band Sandia Strings Christmas Music Celebration The "Christmas Music Celebration" on Sunday the 17th was joyously received by all. A big thank you to everyone who made this a most memorable time. Merry CHRIST-mas and a Happy New Year. Children's Choir Christmas Choir Presentation 6

7 Christmas Food Box Event MUMC in partnership with the East Mountain Food Bank held it's annual Christmas Food Box mission event Saturday, December 16. Volunteers assembled early in the MAC and prepared food boxes that were distributed to 31 families in the east mountain area. A heart felt thank you to all who participated in this much needed and appreciated time for sharing event. January

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9 Breakfast with Santa January 2018 The annual MUMC "Breakfast with Santa" Christmas party was held on Saturday the 9th. Families enjoyed a delicious breakfast while the Jug Band played and sang many favorite Christmas songs. Nearly 60 friends and family attended, including some new faces. Santa listened carefully while children whispered their wishes in his ear. The party ended with a story read to all by Santa. Many hearts were warmed this year! Thank you to all the kitchen staff, decorating volunteers, the jug band participants, and of course, Santa and his helpful Elf. We could not have done this without you! 9

10 Church Business Seeking Welcome Desk Volunteers We are seeking volunteers to stay at the Welcome desk prior to the first and second church service. No prior experience needed! The Welcome Desk is an extension of the greeters. It is a place for first time visitors to get a little more one on one attention to feel welcomed. It s a place where they can ask more questions. We strive to get names and addresses/ s from our guests. That will be followed up with a hand written note. We have goodie bags to hand out, which will have The Beacon, the tri-fold mission programs, a magnet, a handmade pot holder from our Victory Quilters, and an insulated coffee mug or sport water bottle engraved with the new Mountainside logo. We ask that you serve JUST ONCE A QUARTER. Will this be a place for you to serve at Mountainside? Please call Margaret Langdon at to volunteer. Budget Report As of 12/31/2017 Budget Needs 12/31/2017 $461, Received for General Budget $453, Difference - $ 7, Car Needed for Ministry Pastor Mills is looking for a used car. He finds that he needs a vehicle to go to the hospital and to visit and to do the other work of ministry. If you have a car that would consider giving or selling, please contact the pastor at Now Hiring Facility Manager We are currently accepting applications for the facility manager position. Send a letter of interest to the pastor or the church office. Christy Mills will be serving as the interim facilities manager while we take applications for the job. You can reach Christy on her cell, , and you can continue to send scheduling requests to the dedicated address: facility@mountainsidemethodist.org. Scheduling Meetings Please remember to work with the Facility Manager when you want to have a committee meeting or other event at the church. Send an to Facility@mountainsidemethodist.org with your scheduling request. It is important that we have your meeting or event on the calendar not only because we have so many things going on at the same time, but also because cleaning occurs during the times when there are no events on the calendar. 10 Photos in this issue were taken by David Berst.

11 Mountainside United Methodist Church 4 Penny Lane Cedar Crest, NM office@mountainsidemethodist.org RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED Newsletter Submission Guidelines If you have an article or photos you would like to submit to the Mountainside United Methodist Church's newsletter, The Beacon, please follow these guidelines: Submit articles as a pdf, Word document, or within the body of an to office@mountainsidemethodist.org or to the Newsletter Editor at jeanneillustrates@gmail.com. For photos, please always send separate jpg files attached within the with each photo titled in this manner: ArticleTitle_MonthYear An example might be FoodBoxes_Jan2018. The deadline for submission is the 20th of every month. We are especially interested in Mission oriented messages. Thank you for submitting to the Newsletter. Kitty Woods 1-1 Tracy Davis 1-3 Tim Michel 1-3 Roxanne Pokluda 1-3 Gary Roberson 1-3 Don Ferris 1-3 Kaye Gillis 1-4 Russell Hoffman 1-6 Andrea Balestri 1-6 Christine Mitchell 1-7 Rita Pobar 1-9 Jesse Beach 1-10 Julie Hall 1-10 Meredith Merkley 1-11 Lloyd Foster 1-11 Paul Helmick 1-11 Linda Mizell 1-11 Kaeli Manzanares 1-12 Nicholas Morrow 1-12 Brad Miszkiel 1-12 Martha Tedrow 1-13 January Birthdays Russell Rager 1-15 Anne Kinney 1-18 Robbie Bohks 1-20 Mary Brink 1-20 Cathryne Hogan 1-20 Sarah (Vertrees) Kozak 1-24 Betty Miller 1-24 Josiah West 1-25 Jim Clifford 1-26 Lu Brisbin 1/27 Rachel Hein 1-28 Nate Sandford 1-30 Laura Krout 1-31 Ken Walston 1-31 Joe Vertrees