From the Pastor's Desk -

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1 Volume 6 Issue 11 November 2016 Greetings to one and all, November is here! To me that means we are in for some brisk, cool weather, more footbal l games than I care to count, a salute to our veterans, Thanksgiving and the start of Advent! Exciting times for me and I hope for you as well. First, I want to update you on the home community gatherings. As of the end of October, I have met with 5 of the 18 groups we have formed. In these gatherings we discuss our mission statement, the things that mean most to us at Center, the unmet needs we see in our communities and where we envision Center being in 5-10 years. I feel we have had some interesting discussions and possible areas for vital ministries. There are 3 gatherings more scheduled in November and the rest will take place in January and February If you haven t received an invitation this fall, you will get yours in January or February. From the Pastor's Desk - On November 13 we will honor our veterans in both services. We are thankful for all they did for us and want to express our appreciation in the context of worship that day. It is always exciting to prepare for Christmas during the Advent season. Like previous years, you are invited to help decorate the church on the Monday and Tuesday before Thanksgiving. Then on the first Sunday of Advent, we will kick off our Advent season with a joint service at 10:45 for the Hanging of the Greens, In this service we are reminded of the meaning of the various decorations we use to help prepare our hearts and minds for the coming of the Christ Child. My Advent Christmas sermon series is entitled Singing Our Way TO Christmas where we will exam many of our Christmas carols, their origins, their message and how they continue to inspire us today. These sermons will be related to this year s Christmas Cantata, The Thrill of Hope. This year the cantata will be done in 4 parts. On November 27, the choir will do the part focused on hope which contains portions of these songs; Long Ago, Prophets Knew, Sing We Now Of Christmas, The First Noel and Come Thou Long Expected Jesus. On December 4, the focus is on A Gift of Love including the songs; Love Came Down At Christmas, Angels From The Realms Of Glory, Love Divine, Away In A Manger, and The Gift Of Love. The third Sunday of Advent, December 11, is themed, A Prayer for Peace and includes Silent Night, Holy Night, Let There Be Peace On Earth, and O Holy Night. On December 18, the fourth Sunday of Advent, our choir will sing the last part of the cantata entitled A Song of Joy which includes; Rejoice, Mary Had A Baby, Angels We Have Heard On High, Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, Joy To The World and Good Christian Friends, Rejoice. Finally, when you receive this CenterPiece we will be about 1/3 the way through the Tithing Challenge. Presently 15 families are participating. There is still time for others to join for the last 2 months of If you take this challenge you will be blessed and your faith will deepen! So, I encourage all of us to take the challenge! You will be glad you did! I look forward to seeing you at church this month! Cecil Donahue Pastor

2 Missions Missions by Caroline Raper The Missions Committee would like to thanks all of you that participated in making Flood Buckets for Hurricane Matthew victims! Many buckets were being delivered to UMCOR to be distributed. UMCOR (United Methodists Committee On Relief) provides emergency relief throughout many areas of the world and of course in our own state. 100% of donations go to victims affected by disasters. If you want to support Hurricane victims in ways other than the Flood Buckets, you can go to Center UMC will once again be providing Thanksgiving baskets to families in need in our community. The Thanksgiving baskets are distributed through local schools. There will be a laundry basket with a suggested list of items for the congregation to pick up if you would like to sponsor a basket. You then fill the basket with nonperishable items for a Thanksgiving Feast! We ask that a gift card be placed in each basket for the family to purchase the meat and perishable items. This is a very nice way to share the love of Christ during the United Methodist Women by Becky Saunders Fall is always a busy time for Center church and the Center United Methodist Women. During the month of November we will collect our World Thank Offering that benefits UMW missions world-wide. If you would like to contribute to the World Thank Offering, there are offering boxes on the table in the narthex. The offering is due to Amanda Cummings, UMW Treasurer by November 20th. On Thursday, Nov. 17, we will participate in the Feast of Caring to benefit Urban Ministries. We also will be filling two Thanksgiving baskets for Tabitha House Ministry. Throughout November and early December, we will be collecting new toys and books for children and teens for the MATCH program at the Women's Correctional Institute in Raleigh. Please help us collect over 100 toys and books for this worthy cause. Boxes for this will be outside the sanctuary. Finally, we will be selling poinsettias in December to be placed in the sanctuary on December 18. If you would like your poinsettia to be placed in honor or memory of someone, please give the information to Martha by Wednesday, December 14. There will be no regular UMW meetings in November and December. special time of Giving Thanks for all that we have been blessed with! The baskets will be available for pickup by November 6 and need to be returned by November 20. The baskets will be blessed at the Nov 20 worship services. We will provide a meal for Pathways on Tuesday, November 29. Please watch the bulletin board in the main hallway for the signup sheet for food and going to serve. Summerfield UMC will host the Summerfield Christmas Store again this year for area families in need to provide Christmas for their children. Center has offered to sponsor 15 coats and 20 sweatshirts this year. If you would like to provide an item, please let Caroline or Cecil know and we will assign you the size and gender of the recipient. There will be numerous opportunities to volunteer to make the store a success! Be on the lookout for a link to the website and sign up to help! As always, thank you for being such a generous church and helping to share the love of Christ throughout our community, our country, and our world! Page 2

3 Education Education by Ruth Pickett Young Believers During the months of October and November, the Young Believers will be studying the armor of God. We are going to start with the Belt of Truth. We need to put this on first to be truthful and remember the truth we know about God. Next, is the Breastplate of Righteousness. This piece protects our heart. We can protect our heart by confessing any sin we have, or saying sorry to God for things we ve done wrong. The Sandals of Peace come next and remind us to be peacemakers and treat others with kindness. Next, comes the Shield of Faith. This piece of armor pro- tects us from temptations or doubt. The Helmet of Salvation protects our minds. It helps us remember that we are God s children and He loves us and will help us. Finally, we will learn about the Sword of the Spirit. The sword is both the Bible and having the Spirit of God work in us. We can cut away anything that isn t good in our lives. Our Bible verse for this study is from Ephesians 6: 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. Our meeting dates for November are Wednesday, November 9 t and Wednesday, November 23. Please join us from 6:30 7:30. Missional Network Celebration On Sunday, November 6 at 4:00 p.m. the annual Missional Network Celebration will be held at Gideon Grove UMC, Gideon Grove Church Rd, Stokesdale, NC This celebration will be for the Guilford NW and the Rockingham West Missional Networks and is for every member of every church in these Missional Networks. We need a strong representation of Center UMC at this gathering. The churches in our Missional Network are Summerfield, Flat Rock, Gethsemane, Bethany, Bethel, Glencoe, Morehead, Stokesdale, and Oak Ridge. The celebration is just that, a celebration of how the churches have banded together to reach the community. The celebration will begin at 4:00 p.m. and will be followed by a BBQ dinner. The BBQ will be prepared by the new director of Camp Guilrock, Jason Boggs, who we understand is a real pit-master. Plan now to come and be a part of this great celebration! Charge Conference November 13, 2016 The annual Charge Conference of Center UMC will be Sunday, November 13 at 7:00 p.m. The Charge Conference is open to anyone in the church who would like to observe. The Church Council will be voting on leadership for as well as other Charge Conference business for Financial Report As of October 25, 2016 YTD Totals Oct. Actual Budget Tithes and Offerings 16, , ,788 Expenses 18, , Overage/ (Shortage) (1,822) (27,639) (11,851) Loan Balance 27,658 Page 3

4 Worship by Tracy Stanford As Christians, this is a season for us to have a thankful heart! O, give thanks to the Lord for his many blessings! This month join us each Sunday during our Worship Services, as Pastor Cecil continues his messages based on his 90 Day Challenge to Tithing. As a church, come let us sing praises to his name as we enter into worship with a grateful heart! Praise the LORD, all nations! Extol him, all peoples! For great is his steadfast love toward us, and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever. Praise the LORD! Psalm 117: 1 & 2 Special Services: Sunday November 20 Blessing of the Thanksgiving Baskets both services Sunday November 27 Advent Season begins Hanging of the Greens Combined Worship Service at 10:45am Companions In Christ by Doris Windsor Save Thursday, November 17 for Companions In Christ! We have not finalized the plans but will have a lunch event for that day. Watch the Sunday bulletin for details Seniors In Action by Janice McCormick (sponsored by Guilford Senior Resources) Page 4 Be with us on WEDNESDAY, November 9, for fun and fellowship. Meet friends at the Fellowship Hall at 11:00am for fellowship. Lunch will be served at 11:15 followed with entertainment by the Tarheel Country Cloggers. Please call the Church ( ) by Friday, November 4, for reservations.

5 Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come into His presence with singing. Psalm 100:1-2 Music Notes November 2016 Flawless: Hearing and and answering a a Call by Lisa O Hal If you ve recently attended the 9 am Contemporary worship service, you may have noticed a new singer in the Praise Team. Her voice is unmistakable; her face is familiar. Our own flutist, Julie Moon, recently stepped forward as a singer! Behind Julie s flute, there was a voice that longed to serve as a worship leader in a different way by singing! I asked Julie what prompted her to step forward and reveal this hidden talent what made her finally muster the courage to share this with the congregation, and why now? Julie was quick to share that she reached a point in life where her fear was replaced by confidence; she was inspired by the music and literally couldn t hold back from singing any longer. Julie s story is an inspiration for us all to listen for and answer God s call on our lives. One of the songs Julie was inspired by is Flawless : There s got to be more Than going back and forth From doing right to doing wrong Cause we were taught that s who we are Come on get in line right behind me You along with everybody Thinking there s worth in what you do Then like a hero who takes the stage when We re on the edge of our seats saying it s too late Well let me introduce you to amazing grace No matter the bumps No matter the bruises No matter the scars Still the truth is The cross has made The cross has made you flawless No matter the hurt Or how deep the wound is No matter the pain Still the truth is The cross has made The cross has made you flawless CHILDREN S MUSIC Join the Young Believers on Wednesday nights!! Recruiting Voices for the Christmas Cantata You are invited to join the Choir for rehearsal on Wednesday evenings at 7 pm. All voices are welcome and it s ok if you can t join us every week! Rehearsal CD s are available for practice outside of our weekly practices. Tis the season for singing! Come join us! Could it possibly be That we simply can t believe That this unconditional Kind of love would be enough To take a filthy wretch like this And wrap him up in righteousness But that s exactly what He did. Take a breath smile and say Right here right now I m ok Because the cross was enough Page 5

6 November 2016 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat :00 Girl Scouts 4:30 Weenies & Burgers 6:00 Praise Team 6:45 Confirmation 6 COMMUNION 9:00 Contemp. Worship 10:00 Sunday School 11:00 Traditional Worship 4:00 Missional Network Celebration 5:00 SPRC 5:00 Youth at SUMC 7:00 Trustees 7 8 ELECTION DAY 9 11:00 Seniors In Action 4:30 Weenies & Burgers 6:00 Praise Team 6:30 Young Believers 6:45 Confirmation 10 6:30 Quilting 7:00 Home Gathering # :00 Contemp. Worship 10:00 Sunday School 11:00 Traditional Worship 5:00 Youth at Center 6:00 Church Council 7:00 Charge Conference 6:00 Young Life 7:00 Home Gathering #8 6:00 Girl Scouts 4:30 Weenies & Burgers 6:00 Praise Team 6:45 Confirmation Companions In Christ TBA 6:30 Quilting 7:00 Home Gathering #9 5:00 Kid Zone Thanksgiving Dinner :00 Contemp. Worship 10:00 Sunday School 11:00 Traditional Worship 3:00 Education 4:00 Finance 5:00 SPRC 5:00 Youth at SUMC 6:00 Young Life 6:30 Girl Scouts Church Office Closed 27 Hanging Of The Green 10:00 Sunday School 10:45 Combined Worship 5:00 Youth at Center 28 6:00 Young Life 29 Pathways 30 6:00 Praise Team 6:45 Confirmation The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders; where morning dawns, where evening fades, you call forth songs of joy. You care for the land and water it; you enrich it abundantly. The streams of God are filled with water to provide the people with grains, for so you have ordained it. You drench its furrows and level its ridges; you soften it with showers and bless its crops. You crown the year with your bounty, and your carts overflow with abundance. Psalm 65: 8-11 Page 6

7 CENTER Notes Breakfast Burritos No Burritos in November due to scheduling Dear Center Church Members, Just a quick Thank You for all your thoughts, prayers, cards, Prayer Quilt and Cross. I am blessed to live in a community that cares for each other the way you do. May God bless you all. Charlie Williams Mission N_twork C_l_\r[tion Sun^[y, Nov_m\_r 6, 4:00 p.m. [t Gi^_on Grov_ UMC, Stok_s^[l_ C_nt_r Ch[rg_ Conf_r_n]_ Sun^[y, Nov_m\_r 13 7:00 p.m. CenterField Youth would like to extend a HUGE THANK YOU to everyone that helped our Pumpkin Patch!!! We could not do it without such a generous and supportive congregation! Also, Special Thanks to those that have and will provide a snack supper on the 2nd and 4th Sundays!! Page 7

8 Center United Methodist Church 6142 Lake Brandt Rd Greensboro, NC Phone: Fax: Website: Return Service Requested Affix label here Center Church is God Centered Making followers of Jesus Christ by loving, teaching, and serving in the community and the world. Worship Schedule Contemporary Worship 9:00 a.m. Sunday School: 10:00 a.m. Traditional Worship Service: 11:00 a.m. For inclement weather information please visit our website, call our church number for a recording or visit Table Of Contents Center United Methodist Church 6142 Lake Brandt Road Greensboro NC Pastor s Article 1 Missions 2 United Methodist Women 2 Education 3 Financial Update 3 Worship Committee 4 Senior News 4 Music Notes 5 November Calendar 6 Center Notes 7 Counters for November : Misty Byrd Katherine Bennett