Tidings from Tibbetts

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1 Tidings from Tibbetts R e v. D r. J o a n n e C a r l s o n B r o w n D e c e m b e r Founded 1909 I n f o r m a t i o n a n d I ns p i r a t i o n f r o m T i b be t t s U ni t e d M e t h o dis t C h u r c h Joanne s Jottings by Rev. Dr. Joanne Brown In Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol, Ebenezer Scrooge declares war on Christmas: Out upon Merry Christmas! What s Christmastime to you but a time for paying bills without money; a time for finding yourself a year older, but not an hour richer Every idiot who goes about with Merry Christmas on his lips should be boiled with his own pudding and buried with a stake of holly through his heart. I have seen a number of productions of A Christmas Carol in my life: the old versions that get dragged out every December, live theater productions, adaptations that place it in modern times to make it relevant. But I have to say my favorite is the Mr. Magoo cartoon version. I still love to watch that. I still get chills when Marley s ghost comes in chains and all, when the greedy neighbors come in and strip all of Scrooge s possessions in one of his visions and the ghost of Christmas to come still freaks me out he never speaks, he Continued to page 7 God s Rainbow Promises Inside this issue: Joanne s Jottings 1 & 7 Youth Update 1 & 2 Youth Update by Ted Brosius In the course of clearing out the church library, Joanne found and passed on a book to me entitled Building Community in Youth Groups. I admittedly have only leafed through it a couple of times, but the title says it all Community is one of the keys of having a great youth group experience. To that end, I have been trying hard to grow the youth group in community. That is one of the major reasons I added the Friday night fun time activity to our youth group schedule this year it s a great chance to get all the youth together and just have fun. We play games like Gargoyles, where we race around the church in the dark looking for flashlight pieces while avoiding the terrifying gargoyle (the last few times that s been me); play video games on the Game Continued to page 2 Holiday Schedule 3 Hobby Table & Bake Sale Giving Tree 5 Music, Music, Music 6 Advent & Christmas Happenings and so much more! 4 8

2 Page 2 T id i ngs from Tibbetts Gratitude Corner This month we d like to highlight Ben and Gillian Allen-White for all they do, especially behind the scenes for our congregation. Ben is a beloved Sunday School teacher for the 2 and 3 year olds and they love him! He is here most every Sunday to be their pied piper and lead them to fun and learning. Ben also has an amazing reading voice and is often called on not just to be a regular liturgist but for the special services and events as well. He makes a marvelous MC. Gillian was chair of the worship committee for YEARS and faithfully gathered the committee once a month early Sunday mornings to plan and discuss what shape our worship would take. She too is a regular Liturgist reader. She was the stage manager for Hanging of the Greens (no easy task) and was the soul and organizer behind decorating the church for Advent and Christmas. She lends her wonderful alto to the choir on Sunday mornings. And if you have ever had rolls or bread at a church function thank Gillian who donates all we ask for. Tibbetts is blessed and the richer because they are part of our church family and for them we extend our deepest gratitude. Thank You A big thank you to everyone who participated in the Chowder Cook Off! We had cooks, decorators, helpers, cleaners, eaters and voters!! You all made for a fun time at Tibbetts!!! Youth Update continued Continued from page 1 Cube so generously lent to us by David; watch movies together on the projection wall ; talk about each other s weeks during the Pow Wow Cow session; and have a good meal together to start it all out. There are other ways to create community as well. We all are encouraged to sit together during the church service. I have my office hours at Barnes and Noble at Westwood Village and the Admiral Safeway on alternating Tuesdays so the youth at both high schools and middle schools get a chance to hang out and play games, talk, and just be silly together. And we attended a couple of football games as a group. We ll be going to a couple of basketball games later this year, and doing a Christmas party December 21 st. And don t forget the upcoming Parent s Night Out in December, retreats, camp events, and the mission trip next spring. All of these give us the chance to be together and get to know each other. Those youth group sessions where we cover deep and serious subjects are great, but sometimes our best bet for getting connected is just having plain old-fashioned fun. I try to get a good balance between the two, but I m always aiming for building a good solid community in our youth group, one of openness, comfort, fun, and comradery. Come join us!! Dec 7 & 14 12:00-1:30pm Joint Youth Group Dec 21 12:00-2:00pm Christmas Party Days to be Scheduled Office Hours at Barnes & Noble or Admiral Safeway Dec 5, 12, 19 at 6-8pm Weekly Fun Time Dec 13 at 4:30-9:30pm Parent s Night Out Dec 14 at 10am Christmas Pageant Dec 24 Light luminaries before Christmas Eve Service Dec Sr Youth Winter Camp at Lazy F

3 Page 3 Rev. Dr. Joanne Car lso n Brow n Calling All Elves! We needs elves and helpers galore to decorate the church for Advent and Christmas. Join us for fun and frolic (well not around the ever tenuous Christmas tree) as we deck the halls. We need everyone we can get and there will be rewards for showing up at 10am Saturday December 6 to trim and swag and basket and string and tack. Sunday School Christmas Pageant December 14 is our Christmas Pageant featuring our children, youth and choir at our regular 10:00am worship service. It is Christmas Hide and Seek Another must be there! We will be having a rehearsal on Saturday, December 13 at 1pm in the Sanctuary. Longest Night Service December 21 at 7pm, the longest night of the year, we gather to be of support to one another as we find Christmas time hard to get through. It is not the most wonderful time of the year for many. Perhaps a loved one has died this past year and this will be the Christmas without them; perhaps a loved one died around Christmas and this time of year always reminds you of your loss; perhaps you ve lost your job; perhaps even your faith in the face of difficulties; perhaps you just don t want to have a holly, jolly Christmas. Whatever it is, this is the place to be. There will be readings and prayers, music and lighting of candles and a word of hope to take with us into that longest night. Family Christmas Service We have quite a number of wee bairn in our congregation who just can t stay up for the 8pm service so we are doing a Family Christmas Eve service at 5pm designed especially for the wee ones with stories and songs and a special time with children. Everyone is invited, even if you don t have kids, and bring your friends and family. Celtic Christmas Hoot Mon! The bagpipes are calling you to celebrate Christmas Eve with us as we bring a bit of the old sod to life in our singing, our liturgy and our traditions from Ireland, Scotland and Wales and of course, candle lighting. You can t help leaving this service with a feeling of Good Yule to all. December 24 at 8pm. Advent Folders Don t forget to be filling up your Advent folders every day! And to bring them to church on Christmas Eve or the next Sunday or drop them off in the New Year to the church office.

4 Page 4 T id i ngs from Tibbetts UMW Hobby Table and Bake Sale The time has come for all the busy bees who have been buzzing about working on projects for the Women s Hobby Table and Bake Sale to put the finishing touches on them and bring them to Adams Hall on Saturday, December 6 between 12pm and 2pm, for the sale to be held on Dec 7, 8 and 14. If they do not sell and you w ould like to have them back, please put a note on them with your name indicating this. A suggested price would also be helpful. Articles may also be left in the office prior to this. Thank you for all your help. If you have questions call Doris Barker at General United Methodist Woman s Meetingwill meet on Dec 3 at 10am in the Parlor. Bee North Circle will furnish finger foods along with tea & coffee. Circle Meetings Norma Ruth Hugg Circle-will meet on Dec 10 at 10am. They will meet in the Parlor. Bee North Circle-will meet on Dec 10 at 11am. They will meet at Micheala Hoppe s residence for a potluck Christmas lunch. Sewing Circle-will take December off. In January 2015 we will meet again in the Sewing Room from 10am-2pm. Kolze Circle-will not be meeting in December. Happy Anniversary in December Congratulations and many blessings! Joanne & Christie Brown celebrating 1 year Bernice & Hoyt Odom celebrating 55 years Wendy & Stephen Hughes-Jelen celebrating 17 years Jackson Carney Steve Childress Rachael Phelps Semisi Langi Mary Wiener Liz Batchelor Lily Saini Riley Lehmann Don McKee Jessica Clark Kylene Ushimaru Nicholas Branch Kyra-Lin Hom Abraham Allen-White Terry Holm Howard Hein Julie Carney Nico Bazakas Quinn Bazakas Adam Goodnight Sandi Ashenfelter Sarah Blankenau Mary Lawler Irene McCoy Al Maus Happy Birthday in December

5 Page 5 Tibbetts Giving Tree One of Tibbetts annual outreach missions is our Giving Tree, which supports Mary s Place, a Seattle homeless shelter for women and their children. We Did It! We literally blew their socks off or I guess I should say on by collecting 254 pairs of socks for Operation Nightwatch our goal was 200 and clearly we set the bar too low. There is a tree, in the Narthex, with tags that have the name of an item wished for by a mother or child at the shelter. Some are for a new pair of shoes, which require a check written to Tibbetts UMC. Others are for a specific item or gift card. Thanks to your generosity many homeless will have warm, dry feet in what promises to be a wet winter. Thanks to Margaret and Sean Gill for getting us organized Rev. Dr. Joanne Car lso n Brow n The mothers and children will choose a gift to wrap for their loved ones. Gifts/checks are due under the tree, unwrapped, with the tag firmly attached, by Sunday, December 7 th. and motivated and to Michaela Hoppe for taking all those bags of socks down to Operation Nightwatch. Pub Theology Pub Theology will be early this month because of all the Christmas activities. Come start the season out right by joining us for beverages and January Book Club We are taking a break for the busy month of December. In January we will be discussing Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell. To quote John Green writing in the New York Times last year, "I have never seen anything quite like Eleanor & Park. Rainbow Rowell s first food and good discussion Thursday, December 4 from 5:30-7:00pm at The Celtic Swell on Alki. We ll kick off the discussion with what novel for young adults is a beautiful, haunting love story but I have seen those. It s set in 1986, and God knows I ve seen that. There s bullying, sibling rivalry, salvation through music and comics, a monstrous stepparent and I know, we ve seen all this Christmas means to us and how do we celebrate it. Everyone is welcome. stuff. But you ve never seen Eleanor & Park. Its observational precision and richness make for very special reading." This is a book you will not forget. Watch for the date in the January newsletter. Five Wishes A few years ago Joanne gave a presentation on end of life issues and passed out the Five Wishes booklet for people to complete and give to their family, their doctor and to her. There was also a sheet to help your family in planning your memorial service asking for things such as favorite hymns and scripture or readings and also listing vital information they will need to know upon your death. There are copies now available on the literature table in the church entryway for you to take if you would like one or lost yours. Please, this is an important step to take no matter how old you are. Things happen and things change in an instant. Don t let the burden fall on those left behind. This is a great way to help them out.

6 Page 6 T id i ngs from Tibbetts Musical Notes by John Van Lierop, Jr. Star Child hymn #2095 from Faith We Sing Book This month I thought that I would give the background of a fairly recent Christmas hymn Star child found in the Faith We Sing Book. I know that it is a favorite of our minister as well as the Tibbetts church members. This hymn was written by Shirley Murray, a Presbyterian ministers wife. She is considered New Zealand s premier hymn writer. This hymn was originally put in the Murray s Christmas letter in Within 24 hours Carlton Young, a United Methodist hymn-tune writer of the US responded with a simple lifting tune to accompany the hymn. Ms. Murray was inspired to write the hymn due to her increasing concern with the social rejects in her society. This hymn reminds us that Jesus was born the same way every child is born in this world. All the children in this hymn are created in the image of the Star Child whether they be a lost child, street child, hurt child, used child, grown child. Many children around the world do not experience the joys of Christmas as we do. Caroling It s been a few years since we have been caroling so we are going to try it again by popular request. We ll head out Saturday December 20 at 6pm from the church to make our rounds and end up back here for hot chocolate and goodies. This is a way we can help those in our congregation who can t get out to know they are a vital part of our church family. People of all ages and abilities are welcome and urged to join us while we spread a bit of Christmas love. Bells of the Sound: A Winter s Night The magical, mysterious nights of December come in many shades: silent, holy, cold, clear, starry, bright. Bells of the Sound, the Puget Sound's premier handbell ensemble, invites you to A Winter s Night, a special program of holiday music that will paint a colorful portrait of the Christmas season. From the traditional O, Holy Night and Silent Nights, to the shimmering First Noel and Everlasting Light - with a journey into the Twelve Days of Christmas, we ll cast a little light and warmth into your winter nights. This program will be presented at 7:30pm on Friday, December 12 at Tibbetts. A suggested donation of $10/adults and $8/youth and seniors will be collected at the door (children under 8 are free). For more information please visit Bells of the Sound will give you a whole new perspective of handbells that you won't want to miss! Jesus Christ Superstar We are a month away from beginning our rehearsals for Jesus Christ Superstar that we ll do during worship March 29, Palm/Passion Sunday. There are mostly chorus pieces and some solos. If you ve held back because we don t want your singing voice nonsense folks of all abilities needed and wanted. There is also a role for the narrator if you really don t want to sing but want to be part of it. Please let Joanne know you are interested, even a little bit, and she ll do the persuading.

7 Page 7 Rev. Dr. Joanne Car lso n Brow n Joanne s Jottings continued Continued from page 1 looks spooky and when he points to the grave, well, I understand why Scrooge is quaking. And I loved the way it ends, with Scrooge transformed and redeemed that turkey he buys is funny to watch come up the street. Charles Dickens was close to the mark. The gospel is about the power of love to change, redeem and save and to make a difference in the lives of men and women. A generation after Jesus death and resurrection, one of his followers wrote, Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God God is love and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them. This is from I John, one of John Wesley s favorite books of the Bible because of its emphasis on the core of Wesley s teaching love. Pay Your Pledge Painlessly! If you do on-line banking, you can set up a recurring payment to Tibbetts United Methodist Church. Just enter our address ( st Ave SW, Seattle, WA 98116), the amount you want sent each month and the day of the Every civilization and culture has pondered ultimate questions. Early philosophers concluded that if there is an ultimate being it must be perfect, complete and lacking nothing. Such a god would have no needs and no feelings or emotions. The Greeks called this the apatheia of God, from which we derive the word apathy. God, they insisted, must be untouched and uncontaminated by the messy neediness of humanity. The gospel proclaims the exact opposite: God does have feelings and is hopelessly and relentlessly in love with the world and human beings. God lives not in textbooks or creeds, not in temples, cathedrals and churches, but in acts of human love. The miracle of love is that the more you love, the more alive you are. Fortunate people have learned how to love, how to give love, resources, gifts and life itself. I have experienced this more deeply than ever before in the year that has passed since I married Christie. Christmas is, for the young, all about the presents they get; for those of us who are older, it is a reminder that not only is it more blessed to give than to receive but it is a true and abiding joy. It s why we are kinder and more generous than usual burying people in cookies and other home-made week you want the payment made and your bank or credit union will take care of the rest. No more trying to remember where your checkbook is so you can bring it to church on Sunday. It's as easy as pie! goodies, send Christmas cards, write long heart-felt Christmas letters. Every organization, including the church knows this. That is why you are inundated with requests for money this time of year everywhere you turn. But all this is a reminder of what it means to be fully alive and, in a small way, an instrument of God s lifetransforming love. And it is never too late. After a harrowing, sleepless night, Scrooge becomes a changed man. He sends the biggest turkey in the neighborhood shop to the Cratchit home. He wishes his startled neighbors and shopkeepers a Merry Christmas. I have to admit, it always bothered me that all these shops were open Christmas day. How come they didn t get a holiday? But I digress. He even (gasp) goes to church. On the book s last page, Dickens writes of Scrooge: His own heart laughed and it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well. Keeping Christmas is believing in the transforming power of love for each person and for the world. May we all keep Christmas well all year round. In Case of an Emergency on F r i/ Sat/ Sun, c a ll J oanne Messages le ft a t t h e c h u rc h afte r 2p m on T hurs. a re no t c he c ke d u n t il Mon. mo r n ings. T h an k you ve r y m uc h!

8 Tibbetts United Methodist Church st Ave. SW Seattle, WA God s Rainbow Promises 2014 Phone: churchoffice@tibbettsumchurch.org Church Members receive a lengthier printed version via US Mail. The Communications Committee has ensured addresses and phone numbers of church members who host events in their home are not published on the internet, and also protects the privacy of its Youth. Facebook.com/TibbettsUMChurch We welcome all people to celebrate and share God's love. Advent and Christmas Happenings (clip and post on your fridge!) -December 7 at 10am is Hanging of the Greens, a w onderful service w here symbols of Christmas are brought up to finish decorating our sanctuary for the season and we reflect on the meanings of those symbols and sing carols. After worship enjoy the fellowship and treasures at the Hobby Table and Bake Sale in Adams Hall. -December 14 at 10am is the Sunday School Christmas Pageant w hich is alw ays a delight. After worship enjoy the fellowship and treasures at the Hobby Table and Bake Sale. -December 20 from 6-8pm w e w ill go caroling especially to those in our congregations who aren t as able to get out and about ending up with hot chocolate and goodies. Everyone is invited to join us. -December 21 at 7pm is our Longest Night service w hen people for w hom Christmas is hard and less than joyous can come and acknowledge that but leave with a word of hope. -December 24 at 5pm is our first Family Christmas Eve service especially designed for the young ones. -December 24 at 8pm is our Celtic Christmas Eve service complete w ith bagpipes and Celtic prayers and traditions. -December 28 at 10am is a House of Bread service Bethlehem means house of bread and there will be carols galore, readings and a surprise!