The SPIRE. CHO-sen Words. Morristown United Methodist Church 50 South Park Place, Morristown, NJ Vol. 18, No. 1 January 2018

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1 The SPIRE Morristown United Methodist Church 50 South Park Place, Morristown, NJ Vol. 18, No. 1 January 2018 Happy New Year! 2018 has arrived. CHO-sen Words There is something special about new beginnings. It is like holding a blank piece of paper, and we get to write our story on it. So, what kind of story would you choose to write? It has been said that your attitude determines your altitude. I think it is correct. People with a good and positive attitude toward themselves and others around them raise the quality of their lives and relationships. On the other hand, those with a negative and critical attitude usually bring themselves and others down. Then, the choice we have is between being encouragers or discouragers when we relate to others. Barnabas, one of the apostles of Jesus, is known as the generous encourager. When he went to Antioch and saw a group of passionate believers, he steadfastly encouraged them to stay close to the Lord and keep true to him. We can all use this kind of encourager for our Christian walk. And we can be such generous encouragers for other believers in our church and community. As we begin to write our own stories on a blank sheet of paper, I suggest that you put on the attitude of generous encourager, rather than discourager, and build up others around us...and by doing so, we shall rise to a new height of beauty and grace. I am hopeful for our church in By your generous and faithful support, we have been able to finish the year well financially and otherwise, and we are off to a great start. My prayer is that by the time we reach the end of this new year, we will be able to say that we have been faithful to the Gospel and the work of God s Kingdom. We are happy to announce that Mike Laba begins his new role as the Financial Manager of our church effective January 1, Welcome, Mike! Happy New Year and see you in Church. With Hope and Joy, Pastor Brandon 1

2 January 7, 2018 First Sunday of the Epiphany Baptism of the Lord Remember Your Baptism and Be Thankful Mark 1:4-11 Pastor Brandon preaching January 14, 2018 Second Sunday after Epiphany He is Calling You! John 1:43-51 Pastor Brandon preaching January 21, 2018 Third Sunday after Epiphany Rev. Dr. Steve, guest preacher January 28, 2018 Fourth Sunday after Epiphany Jesus Cleansing an Unclean Spirit Mark 1:21-28 Pastor Brandon preaching We have a new Church App that you can place right on your phone. Once you've done this all you have to do is click on that App and you can get all the information you need about our church and its activities. Everything that is on our website will automatically be translated to our Morristown UMC App. Here is the link for Android phones urchlinkapp.c38107 Here is the link for Apple phones DEDICATION OF CHURCH LEADERS FOR 2018 Sunday, January 21, 2018 Our Skylands District Superintendent, Rev. Dr. Steve Bechtold, will be our guest preacher on Sunday, January 21 st, Dr. Becthold has been the most enthusiastic supporter and advocate for our Morristown congregation. He will also dedicate our church officers and leaders for 2018 during worship. We urge all the church leaders, ministry team leaders, Sunday School teachers and youth leaders to attend the service. 2 On January, 14 th & 28 th we will offer building tours after church. This is a chance to see all the rooms (there are a lot of them) in the church. These tours will last approximately minutes. Tours will start in the courtyard after church. Thank you, Andrew T. Cattano Thank you to everyone that took the CPR/First Aid Training last month. We now have 20 people trained! The Trustees purchased one AED ($1,700), for the church and just this week anonymous funding came in for the purchase of a second one. Thank you to our anonymous donor it is truly appreciated.

3 Nueva Esperanza Pastor Charles Perez What a joy to know that our families, our children are well taken care of when it comes to the internal, external, and eternal. I know when I personally see what my children and family has and how I can provide for them brings me so much joy by the grace of God. We have immigrants not feeling certain of their legal status (Daca/Tps). To have relationships with homeless people knowing the harsh cold weather outside and to hear of their needs, reminds me that baby Jesus had no place to rest his head comfortably, and that immigrants (three Magi) came to visit him with gifts. As children of God, they have the same rights to experience the joy that we have found in a Lord who is our shepherd and we shall not want because he provides all. Decisions like these is what causes the poverty to increase. The proposed tax reform package stakes out America s bid to become the most unequal society in the world, and will greatly increase the already high levels of wealth and income inequality between the richest 1% and the poorest 50% of Americans. The dramatic cuts in welfare, foreshadowed by Donald Trump and speaker Ryan, and already beginning to be implemented by the administration, will essentially shred crucial dimensions of a safety net that is already full of holes. As the body of Christ we have been entrusted to move the feet and extend the hands as the head leads us to bring forth the hope, peace, joy and love that is available in Christ. The Nativity story was and is offering joy to the representation of Mary (Women/Equality), Baby Jesus/Shepherds (Homeless), Wise Men (Immigrants). We must travel with Jesus and it is not always dignified (digno), pretty or easy. We are called to bring forth that joy we have received to others and Jesus path was a messy, dirty, difficult one when it came to bringing joy to the masses. The beauty is to bring God s lost and dirty people back to God s joy. Jesus brought forth joy to people who were not liked and were not like other people. Jesus birth and ministry proves that he did not just like the marginalized; he went out of his way to bring forth the joy of healing and love from the creator by leaving his heavenly home to find us, to seek, to save, and to love us, ALL of us. "Jesus relational DNA touched as many diverse cells and linked socially and emotionally. This allowed for Jesus to interconnect much fuller and richer with human beings". Jesus ate with the so called sinners, healed them and restored them to the community. Jesus was and is inclusive, but while he accepted people as they were, he did not affirm them as they were; he transfigured. I find it quite interesting that Jesus was born surrounded by animals and died surrounded by criminals. Are animals and outcasts missing from our stories? The church continues to be the body of Christ that offers that joy of God. The church is the ongoing incarnation of God s grace and love. Seeing what Jesus did in his birth and in his ministry calls us to bring forth joy to the people it being internal, external and eternal. We are an offering to God s people to continue to reach out to the marginalized that they may enjoy the blessings of God as I and my family have. The church is to be shared and in that giving there is the joy of God to all kinds of people. 3

4 BRANDON & JACK S Today we initiate a new communication tool to share with you some thoughts and ideas about our Christian journey together. Today it s Jack s turn to share with you why he has chosen to be a Methodist. Check in on our Church App or website for future updates and messages. Jack: I m often asked by non-methodist friends what s the difference between Methodism and other denominations, or more to the point, why am I a Methodist? I was raised Roman Catholic, went to parochial school, and even studied for the priesthood, so I felt very comfortable choosing to be a Methodist because both Roman Catholicism and Methodism have very similar theologies. Both are Trinitarian and both understand that Jesus Christ is fully human and fully divine. Both claim that Jesus life and death are the sole reason for our salvation from sin. But Methodism has four major features which resonate strongly with me. I. The Wesleyan Quadrilateral Methodists believe that our faith is based on four grounds: scripture, reason, tradition, and experience. Scripture is paramount but must be interpreted through reason, experience, and tradition. Or as a friend of mine put it, in Methodism you don t check your brain at the door! II. Methodism s Understanding of the Universality of Grace - Our denomination teaches that God s grace is freely offered to all people. We do not merit or earn it and we can decide freely to accept God s grace or reject it. We believe that God elects all people to be given this grace and to have the opportunity for salvation. Salvation is not limited to Methodists, or for that matter Christians, alone. III. The Equal Role of Laity in the life of the Church In Roman Catholicism lay people do not have an equal role in the life of the Church - for that matter neither do women! In Methodism there are different, but equal, roles for clergy and laity. For example, laity has equal representation at our Annual and General Conferences, which make all the major decisions in the life of our denomination. IV. The Social Justice Ministry of the Church No other denomination can claim the central importance of social justice in the life of the Church. Our denomination has taken courageous stands on moral issues, such as civil rights, immigration justice, health care for all, climate change, and working for a lasting peace. On occasion we have lost members because of these stands, but our denomination understands that Christians must be on the forefront of fighting for a just and peaceful society. So I m proud to be a Methodist and try to work daily to bring others not only to Christ but to our Methodist Church here in Morristown. 4

5 Skylands District Foundational Leadership Training Laity and Clergy Save the Date Saturday, January 20, 2018 Time: 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Location: Butler United Methodist Church 5 Bartholdi Ave., Butler, NJ Cost: Free, registration opening soon. The Foundational Leadership Training is designed for church officers, committee and team leaders, and people engaged in various ministries of the church to provide foundational understanding and leadership skills. Trey Wince, Director of New Disciples, will be our preacher during worship. Two workshop sessions provides opportunity for participants to choose two different options to learn about for their area(s) of ministry and other more general leadership skills. Stay tuned for information. MORRISTOWN UMC awarded $32,000 Grant for our Nueva Esperanza Ministry by GNJAC Great News! The Greater New Jersey Annual Conference Leadership has decided to award our church a very generous grant in the amount of $32,000 in total to support our church s Nueva Esperanza Ministry for A large portion of the grant will be used to support our Pastor Charles Perez s salary package, and the rest of the grant will be well utilized to develop its vital ministries. Dr. Cho said, We are very grateful to our GNJ leadership, especially Dr. Bechtold, for affirming our church s ministry to, and with, our growing Latino/Hispanic population in Morristown. This grant reflects the powerful connection and partnership between our congregation and GNJAC to advance the work of God s Kingdom in our community. 5 Nueva Esperanza Worship and Ministry Stephen Ministry Church Leaders and Ministry Teams Our Sunday School and Youth Ministry Our Church Family and Friends The family and friends of Sherese (Missy) Frantz, mourning her death The family and friends of Bill Earls, mourning his death Les Sutton, continued recovery Erico family, mother of four battling terminal cancer John Leding, strength and healing William E. Hettrick, prostate cancer Rob W., to find peace and God s direction Hilda, Deb Foster s aunt, cancer Susie Parker and her church family Don, strength and healing Judy M., colon cancer Stephanie, successful stem cell transplant Agnes, living with cancer, healing Gary, loss of job Tim Byrne, successful treatment of cancer John Hyland, contined strength and healing Kelly Buzalski, fighting cancer Joan, in hospice care Janice Harris, colon cancer Stephanie, leukemia Carolyn, cancer Maggie, dialysis and chemo Debbie s mom, successful treatment of cancer Lea O Shea, Nancy Ruggerio s daughter, recovery Adam, successful treatment of colon cancer James, recovery from stage 4 cancer Jenny s father, treatment for prostate cancer Serving Our Country Pfc. Abigail Crisp, NJ Army National Guard Jordan Dale, U.S. Marines Sgt. Randall Ferrara, NJ Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Steve Lantz, Army Reserves, Middle East Lt. Karen Kraft McAllister, U.S. Navy, San Diego On-going Prayer Sonya Burroughs Bob Kennaday Shannon Bain Barbara & Jim MacHale Lou Cattano Micah Beth & Bruce Courter Rick Radis Erika Davis Ms. So Neil Eriksen Arden Sutton Nancy Gardner Emma Wyman Jack & Johnna Ken Zippler

6 Mona s Musings Happy New Year! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. The news for my column this month is a mixture of joy and sorrow. The MEN S BREAKFAST will sponsor a tour of the UMC Archives by L. Dale Patterson, Archivist- Records Administrator, General Commission on Archives and History (GCAH), UMC, at 36 Madison Ave., Madison, NJ on Saturday, January 20th. Our breakfast starts at 8:00 a.m. as usual in Fellowship Hall followed by clean up and travel to the Drew University Campus for the tour at 9:30 a.m., which will take a little over an hour. Everyone is welcome to attend both. However, if you plan to attend the breakfast, please let us know so we can plan for the required number of breakfasts. Also, let us know if you will be attending the tour without the breakfast for planning purposes. In their October 2017 Newsletter, Alfred T. Day III, General Secretary, General Commission on Archives and History, United Methodist Church, stated: As we like to say here at the United Methodist Archives, by understanding the past, GCAH helps the Church engage the present and envision the future. So please plan on attending to better understand our past. For more info, see: Note, we have a new web page at: b0ed38d. Everyone is welcome - invite your friends and neighbors. For further information and breakfast reservations, please contact Howard Leach at hhleach@aol.com or at , or Lou VanderSande at louvande@verizon.net or To begin with the joy, our own Kevin Vance is a grandfather!!! Can you believe it??? His granddaughter, Savannah Regina Golino, was born on October 28, Check out this photo isn t she adorable?? Congratulations, Grandpa! The rest of this column is really hard to write so hard to find the right words. On December 7 th, Eric Frantz lost the love of his life when his beautiful wife Sherese ( Missy ) passed away after spending almost a month in a coma following a fall. A loving celebration of Missy s life was attended by many friends and family members. Eric has stated on FaceBook that he knew Missy was watching and was pleased to see so many people come out to honor her and to support Eric and his amazing 10-year-old daughter Bryce. They are holding each other up as they try to adjust to a new normal without the most important person in their lives. Our love and heartfelt condolences go out to both of them. The Earls family also suffered a huge loss when husband and father, Bill, passed away on December 11, Bill survived pancreatic cancer over 13 years ago, but recently had been in ill health. He was a candidate for a liver transplant, but was never strong enough to undergo the surgery. His family honored him with a beautiful memorial service here at MUMC. Our love and sympathy go out to Sue and his children. 6

7 Dear MUMC Family, As most of you know, our church hosts a wintertime lunchtime concert series Thursdays in December and January, now in our 38 th season! Our December concerts were very well attended this year my thanks to those of you who have come to enjoy the music and to Teresa Mitchell and the Board of Directors for helping everything run smoothly. This year, back by popular demand, our concerts will continue into January! All the performers are top-notch, so I hope you will mark your calendars and plan to join us. With love and gratitude, Sarah A Michal, Director of Music Ministries Music At Noon concerts continue in January Thursdays at 12:15 p.m. Light luncheon available for purchase before concerts, 11:30-12:10 Lunch $8/$7 seniors; Concerts $7/$6 seniors suggested donation January 4 January 11 Fun with Felix An Afternoon with Rio Organ Music by Felix Mendelssohn Rio Clemente, jazz piano Mark Loria, organ January 18 Chopin and Lizst January 25 Joel Fan, piano A Musical Heritage Nancie Lederer, violin Marnie Kaller, cello Pauline Lederer, piano Rick Kaller, piano Join us! 7

8 Rummage Sale Saturday March 3, am-2pm Proceeds benefit youth mission project. We accept: Household items, dishes, utensils, appliances, toys, children s furniture, books, holidays, glassware, antiques, office supplies, linens, furniture, electronics, DVD s, CD s, phones, lamps, sports equipment, computers, vases, picture frames, jewelry (please bring jewelry to the office), baskets, tins, tools, pet supplies, TV s (must be flat screen 20in or smaller). Please make sure that the rummage you donate is in good enough condition to resell. It costs us time and money to throw out things that are damaged or broken. We reserve the right to refuse any items that are not in good condition. Please do not donate the following: Cribs, Car seats, Washers/Dryers/Stoves/Refrigerators, Mattresses, Gas powered equipment, Clothes, Big Screen TV s Donations accepted January 1 st - February 25 th 2018 Please contact Andrew at mumcrummage@gmail.com before dropping off any large items or if you have any questions. All items are to be placed on the stage behind the curtain. Drop off times are Monday-Friday 9am- 5pm or on Sunday mornings 9am-noon. Morristown United Methodist Church 50 South Park Place Morristown Call or visit us at for more info. 8

9 January 2018 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 Office closed :30am Music at Noon lunch 12:15 pm Concert Mark Loria, organ 5 6 8:30am Emmaus Reunion A.A. 7 9:00am Breakfast Club Sunday School Bible Study 10:15am Worship Service 11:35am Asbury Choir :30am Music at Noon lunch 12:15 pm Concert Rio Clemente, Jazz piano :30am Emmaus Reunion 9:00am-3:00pm Building Bridges workshop A.A. 6:15pm Trustees 6:30pm Wesleyan Choir 7:00pm Jubilation Ringers 6:30pm Yarners Chancel Choir 14 9:00am Breakfast Club Sunday School Bible Study 10:15am Worship Service 11:35am Asbury Choir 15 Dr. Martin Luther King Day Office Closed A.A. 16 6:30pm Wesleyan Choir 7:00pm Council of Ministries 17 7:00pm Jubilation Ringers 18 11:30am Music at Noon lunch 12:15 pm Concert A Musical Heritage Chancel Choir :00am Men s Breakfast 8:30am Emmaus Reunion 21 9:00am Breakfast Club Sunday School Bible Study 10:15am Worship Service 11:35am Asbury Choir 22 A.A. 23 6:30pm Wesleyan Choir 24 7:00pm Jubilation Ringers 25 11:30am Music at Noon lunch 12:15 pm Concert Joel Fan, piano 6:30pm Yarners Chancel Choir :30am Emmaus Reunion 5:00pm Couples Connection 28 9:00am Breakfast Club Sunday School Bible Study 10:15am Worship Service 11:35am Asbury Choir 29 A.A

10 Rev. Dr. Brandon Cho, Senior Pastor Rev. Charles Perez, Associate Pastor Jack Scharf, Certified Lay Minister/Administrative Director Mike Laba, Financial Manager Sarah A Michal, Director of Music Ministries Maria & Vince Cattano, Youth Ministry Coordinators Jennifer Yang, Organist Mona Lindemann, Administrative Assistant/Spire Editor Cesar Torres, Property Manager Kevin Vance, Webmaster Morristown United Methodist Church on-the-green 50 Park Place Morristown, New Jersey Change Service Requested The Spire 10