December 2018 Greenwood United Methodist Church. A Visit From St. Nick

Transcription

1 December 2018 Greenwood United Methodist Church Page December 2018 Twig Bender A Visit From St. Nick With apologies to Clement Moore, St. Nick and all the reindeer... And just what is a sugar plum, anyway? O n the night before Christmas, throughout Greenwood Kirk, I had just finished fixing our office network. Before I went home, I set out to make sure That all the church buildings were tight and secure. The sanctuary room was still and serene, Festooned with all of those hangings of green That had gone up the day before Advent s start, Displaying our church s fine sense of art. The chrismons all over our great, soaring tree Helped me remember that Christ set us free. Just then the office door bell started ringing So I went round to see just what this was bringing. A little, old guy in a fur-trimmed red hoody (Continued on page 7) Our Ministry Of Prayer Al Crowder, Roger Eckwright, Jeannette Jackson, Lori Lohr, Rob Maxey, Laura Patteson, Rudd Patteson, Dean Pittman, Raymond Rudd, Susan Schermerhorn, Bobby Schultz, Jamison Simpson, Bob Smith, Taylor Stapleton, Susan Wachter, Harold Yeary, Jennifer Yeary

2 Page 2 The Twig Bender F r o m t h e Pa s t o r W h a t t h e Wo r l d N e e d s N o w Oh, the weather outside is frightful well maybe not frightful. But it sure has been wet enough to seem so this year! Richmond is now experiencing its sixth wettest year on record with more rain in the forecast, and ice and snow already a problem for much of our country. Many of us are not necessarily looking forward to the cold, but would rather see the snow fall than rain at this point. (Ed. Note: speak for yourself, preacher!) It has been so rainy that I have been hearing a lot of jokes recently about the Flood! The many days of rain, our current political strife, the controversy over climate change, the violence and evil that headline our news reports, newspaper headlines, and magazine articles, do bring parallels to the story of the flood in Noah s day (Genesis 6-9). In Genesis 9, God makes a covenant with Noah never again to curse the ground and destroy all the living creatures. Then God sends rainbows always to serve as reminders to us of that covenant. A bit over 2,000 years ago, God made a second covenant with humans. God gave us His Son, Jesus. God s Son lived on the earth with us, experienced life with us the good and the bad and learned our foibles. Yet Jesus still loved us. He loved us enough to fulfill God s second covenant with us by dying so that we could know salvation and experience eternal life. This month, we will celebrate Christmas. We sometimes get caught up in the decorating and the shopping. We are still trying to recuperate from the Thanksgiving (Continued on page 8) Our December Communion Offering Goes to: VIPC (see article on page 4)

3 December 2018 Page 3 O u r C h r i s t m a s G i f t L i s t Gifts we would give if we could; here s the Twig Bender s Christmas 2018 List: Charley Banks: four weekends of good weather. Lewis Daniel: taller doors, more liturgists and an SPPR chair. Roger Eckwright: more men attending and cooking the Men s Breakfast. Pastor Barbara: a permanent remedy for her voice and some office hours. Nancy Lloyd: church keys (no, not bottle openers!) that work. Jean Mowatt: an apprentice Copier Queen. ( Copier Princess?) Adamarye Patteson: more food picker-uppers. Betty Ritchie: a million thanks for all the dinners she s cooked, lunches she s packed and pickles she s pickled. Oh, yeah, and all the pretty artwork all around the church. Porter Schermerhorn: a dog that doesn t eat rugs. Jackie Schultz: a bigger choir. Arline Shafer: more Advocate subscribers. Brenda Shuler: more children enrolled in After School. Harry Shuler: a new, butane fired stew pot and a picnic shed to protect it. Bob Smith: a zero turn lawn mower for the church. Bob Stapleton: some tight closing doors around the church. Gay Stapleton: more volunteers for the church office. Linda Walker: more kids for A Moment with Children. and if your name isn t listed here, that s either because we couldn t come up with a witty gift idea or maybe you should reflect on whether you ve been naughty or nice.

4 Page 4 The Twig Bender Your Communion Offerings Virginia Institute of Pastoral Care By Linda Walker Greenwood UMC s December communion offering will go to the Virginia Institute of Pastoral Care (VIPCare). Their mission is to restore healing and hope through counseling and education. VIPCare has helped more than 100,000 clients since its founding in Their services are available at churches in seven counseling locations, including Ashland, Charlottesville, Williamsburg, and Roanoke and the main office on Bremo Road in Richmond. VIPCare counselors are trained mental health professionals, many of whom are also practicing clergy. Many are certified as pastoral counselors by the American Association of Pastoral Counselors; some are licensed as professional counselors and marriage and family therapists by the Virginia Board of Professional Counselors. VIPCare counselors work in conjunction with medical, psychological and psychiatric consultants. Referrals are made to other professionals when appropriate. The purpose of pastoral counseling is to help: Improve communication between the client and others. Rebuild life after a significant loss. Recover from a divorce. Parent more effectively. Enrich a marriage. Tap into areas of work and growth with a future partner. Heal from effects of abusive relationships. Resolve the causes of depression, anxiety, anger, confusion or insecurity. Develop a more enriching and holistic faith. They provide individual counseling and also counseling for children, couples, and families. And they also conduct presentations and workshops on a variety of subjects. Here s a quote from Sister Cora Marie Billings of Sisters of Mercy: I serve on VIP- Care s Board of Directors because counseling makes a difference to someone suffering from depression, anxiety, family discord, the stress of financial instability, aging, addiction any emotional struggle. VIPCare offers a safe place to receive compassion (Continued on page 11)

5 December 2018 Page 5 A f t e r S c h o o l N e w s By Brenda Shuler We have truly been blessed this year with a wonderful group of after schoolers and their families. During the first three months, we worked together to participate in two service projects. The first one was a trip to the Richmond SPCA. While there we were told about how to care for pets, ways to help the SPCA and, of course, were able to see some of the animals who were there. In November, we went to the Dollar Tree to purchase items to fill four shoe boxes for the Samaritan s Purse Ministry. It was fun to see what they thought we should put in the boxes for other children. In December, we plan to decorate a Christmas tree in the fellowship hall with hats, gloves, mittens and scarves that will be taken to the United Methodist Family Services. We would love to have the congregation help us with this project. If you want to donate, please leave your items in the Fellowship Hall by Dec. 16. If you have a Christmas craft you would like to share with us, just let us know and we can plan a time for you to visit or if you just need something to cheer you up, just come by. We would like to Wish You a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year The Afterschool Staff Greenwood Women s Circles The Ruth Circle will meet Wednesday, December 5 at 6:30 in the home of Betty Ritchie. We will be enjoying a covered dish dinner and making plans for the family we have adopted for Christmas. The Willing Workers Circle will meet at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 6 in the Just Friends Sunday School classroom. We will be discussing how to support our Longdale Christmas family. We recognized Longdale s November Teacher of the Month: Angie Long, Exceptional Programs Chairman and 5 th Grade Teacher.

6 Page 6 The Twig Bender H o l i d a y S e c u r i t y T i p s To protect you online, Richmond Alarm recently published these quick tips from the makers of LifeLock, an online identify theft protection company: Shop at websites you trust - because it's hard to know who truly has inventory and will ship the products you purchase, do online business only with retailers you trust and have shopped with before. Beware of rock bottom prices - the old adage is true, if it looks too good to be true, it probably is. Compare prices at similar websites. Avoid public Wi-Fi - locations like coffee shops often use public airwaves for WiFi. Shopping online usually means giving out your personal information and if you're providing that on an open network, you could be putting that information into the wrong hands. Create strong passwords - always use a complex set of lowercase and uppercase numbers, letters, and symbols and don't use easy-to-guess, personal information in passwords. Make sure you create unique passwords for each account - a data breach at one company could give criminals access to your other, sharedpassword accounts. Pay with a credit card - unlike debit cards, most credit card companies offer insurance or liability coverage on purchases. If someone were to rack up fraudulent charges, you could be reimbursed. Christmas Eve Candlelight services: 4 p.m. at Laurel Park UMC 7 p.m. at Greenwood

7 December 2018 Page 7 (Continued from page 1) A Visit From St. Nick With a white beard that seemed not a little bit sooty. He cried, Open up! I ve deliveries to leave, And places to go on this Christmas Eve! In a state of bemusement I stood to one side As he strolled right on past with a purposeful stride. Into the sanctuary, to unpack That huge bag of gifts that he had on his back. There he set out, with obvious glee Gifts that are listed over there on page three. He moved to the altar rail, knelt there to pray. Then wrapped up his prayers and had this to say: Forget all about this commercialized biz; Don t ever forget just Whose birthday this is! Merry Christmas to all from the Twig Bender staff. W h i t e C h r i s t m a s O f fe r i n g When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. In this spirit of celebration from the book of Matthew, we at Greenwood UMC will have our annual White Christmas Offering during worship services on Sunday, Dec. 16. These gifts help ensure that the ministries and outreach of our church continue this year and into the new one. Please pray about this between now and then and prepare to bring your gift to the altar that morning. White envelopes will be available at the rear of the sanctuary should you need one.

8 Page 8 The Twig Bender What the World Needs Now (Continued from page 2) meals, football games and possibly too much family time over this weekend. We are struggling to unearth winter sweaters, find ice scrapers and locate the missing glove. We are seeing more rain in the forecast; dreading snow. Instead it is a time to be looking for the rainbows taking time to enjoy the unique beauty of each snowflake experiencing joy in the mundane; feeling loved as we look at all with which God has blessed us and then sharing it. This is a time to see through Jesus eyes. To see the good in all of the creation around us. It is time to reflect on God s plan for our world including sending us Jesus. Time to reflect on Christ s gift to us. We remember Jesus as the cute baby in the nativity scene. And like Mr. Warlock in Santa Clause Is Comin to Town whose heart is heart is warmed by the kindness of Kris Kringle, or the Grinch whose heart grows three sizes and then he knew the true meaning of Christmas, we experience what John Wesley described as his heart being strangely warmed. We experience God s love within us. We are reminded that we are to love God and to love our neighbor. This is a season that makes it a little easier to show that love for others. A time to gift them with a kindness that makes someone else feel good. We remember, as we approach Christmas, that this is a time to change from bad to good. Our focus changes as we reflect on who we are as followers of Jesus. We look for the best in our relatives and all of humanity. We give of ourselves. We share a bit of love, hope and joy with others as Jesus taught us. When we give of ourselves, our talents, our time, we counter the pain, frustration and unhappiness in the world. When we live like Jesus, we give others hope and joy. We make this world a glimpse of God s kingdom now. What our world needs now is more love. It needs to experience Christ s love anew. It needs the hope Jesus gives. It needs the joy of God s Kingdom. (Continued on page 12) L i k e G r e e n w o o d o n Fa c e b o o k w w w. fa c e b o o k. c o m / g u m c va

9 December 2018 Page 9 Brunswick Stew Sale Wrap Up Once again, Greenwood s Brunswick Stew Sale and Fall Fair was a smashing success. All profits are earmarked for missions, with the first $1,500 going to Clara Biswas, our missionary in Cambodia. Thanks to everyone who contributed! Total Receipts Expenses Net Brunswick Stew 2, , Bake Sale Honey Sale Silent Auction Signs and Banner Expense (204.60) Totals $ 3, $ 1, $ 2, Be Prepared Read the Scriptures December Lectionary Readings Dec. 2 Jeremiah 33:14-16; Psalm 25:1-10; 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13; Luke 21:25-36 Dec. 9 Malachi 3:1-4; Luke 1:68-79; Philippians 1:3-11; Luke 3:1-6 Dec. 16 Zephaniah 3:14-20; Isaiah 12:2-6; Philippians 4:4-7; Luke 3:7-18 Dec. 23 Micah 5:2-5a; Psalm 80:1-7; Hebrews 10:5-10; Luke 1:39-45, (46-55) Dec. 24 Christmas Eve Dec. 25 Christmas Day Isaiah 9:2-7; Psalm 96; Titus 2:11-14; Luke 2:1-20 Isaiah 52:7-10; Psalm 98; Hebrews 1:1-4 (5-12); John 1:1-14 Dec Samuel 2:18-20; Psalm 148; Colossians 3:12-17; Luke 2:41-52

10 Page 10 Congregational Leadership in Difficult Times is the theme of the upcoming Richmond District Leadership Training Event set for Sunday, Jan. 13. Registrations are due December 7 see Pastor Barbara. The Twig Bender C o n f e r e n c e Tr a i n i n g J a n u a r y 1 3 Do you find yourself and your church in an anxious place, not knowing what is coming or how you will be able to cope? If so, come and be a part of this great event, featuring the Rev. Dr. Susan Beaumont. Dr. Beaumont will share with us how to manage anxious times, or liminal* seasons, and how they can be redefining in many ways. There is work to be done; what does that work look like? What is God calling us to do or become? The Richmond District Leadership Day will have a different look in 2019 there will be no break-out sessions, only the District Conference and Dr. Beaumont s presentation. Because of where we find ourselves as a church and as a community, we have asked Dr. Beaumont to come and share with our churches what it means to be in this anxious season. The Conference and Training Event runs from 2 to 5:30 p.m. at Woodlake UMC, Hampton Park Dr. in Chesterfield. *liminal: relating to a transitional or initial stage of a process; occupying a position at, or on both sides of, a boundary or threshold as opposed to subliminal under the threshold. Christmas Card Exchange Again this year, we ll trade Christmas greeting cards with other members of the Greenwood/Laurel Park Church Family. Please have your cards in the box in the narthex by Dec. 16. Cards for Laurel Park folks can go in the box in the Greenwood narthex. Cards will be distributed on Dec. 23.

11 December 2018 Page 11 V i r g i n i a I n s t i t u t e o f P a s t o r a l C a r e (Continued from page 4) and support. Our community needs the services VIPCare provides. The Counseling Aid Fund provides support for counseling sessions based on client need. No one is turned away because of an inability to cover the cost of care. VIPCare relies on private donor support to provide affordable mental health care. Please join me in praying for God s continued blessing for VIPCare and donating as you are able in December. If you or someone you know needs help or wants more information, call VIPCare at Note: this is the 12th and final article in our series on where your monthly Communion offerings go. Many thanks to Linda Walker for researching and writing this series. Food Donation Connection December Pick Up Rotation Adamarye Patteson writes: With this being the end of the year, I would like to give a big thank you to everyone who helped pick up the food and distributed it on Friday nights. We have averaged 15 families a week and if you multiply that by 52 weeks we have made a difference in a lot of people s lives. Wednesday, Dec. 5: Cindy Jo Daniel; Thursday, Dec. 6: Lewis Daniel; Friday, Dec. 7: Adamarye Patteson. Wednesday, Dec. 12: Betty and Raymond Ritchie; Thursday, Dec. 13: Glenda and Steve Stalnaker; Friday, Dec. 14: Brenda and Harry Shuler. Wednesday, Dec. 19: Jean Mowatt and William Gibbs; Thursday, Dec. 20: Lewis Daniel; Friday, Dec. 21: Carolyn and Ray Smith. Wednesday, Dec. 26: Cindy Jo Daniel; Thursday, Dec. 27: Glenda and Steve Stalnaker; Friday, Dec. 28: Brenda and Harry Shuler.

12 Page 12 Greenwood Church Family Birthdays The Twig Bender Clarence Powell... 12/9 Jonae Shuler... 12/10 Betty Coleman... 12/11 Cindy Jo Daniel... 12/11 Janice Banks... 12/13 Mary Cullom... 12/13 Betty Lloyd... 12/15 Jamie Smith...12/15 Kathryn Walker...12/21 Mary George...12/28 Gail Stanley...12/28 Jackie Schultz...12/31 Doris Calabrese...12/31 Anniversaries Clarence & Kaye Powell... 12/19 Don t see your birthday or wedding anniversary in The Twig Bender and would like to have us publish it? Send your dates to admin@gumcva.org or call the church office at ; likewise, let us know if you d like your birthday or anniversary removed. W h a t t h e W o r l d N e e d s N o w (Continued from page 8) While we may look forward to a variety of consumer items as gifts, we also look forward to the ultimate gift: the gift of life; the gift of Christ. May your season be one of seeing the best of God s creation, lots of joy and filled with hope. Barbara

13 December 2018 Page 13 November Attendance and Offerings Honor the Lord with your substance and with the first fruits of all your produce Proverbs 3:9 Date Sunday School Worship Giving Nov. Weekly Avg. Nov. Totals Christmas Cantata 2018 During worship services on Dec. 23, the Greenwood Choir will present our annual Christmas Cantata: "Were You There on That Christmas Night? Please join us for the introduction of the musical story of Christ s birth. December Eating Opportunities Note: no Fellowship Dinner or Bag Lunches in December. The FunRaisers are selling pickles again this year. Sweet and Dill Pickles, $4 per pint. If you would like to place an order, please call Betty Ritchie at or see her at church on Sunday mornings. Twig Bender is a publication of Greenwood United Methodist Church Office Phone: admin@gumcva.org Greenwood Road Glen Allen, VA Sunday School: 9:30 a.m. Worship: 11 a.m. Sunday Pastor The Rev. Barbara Lewis Phone: revbarbara@gumcva.org Office hours: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday Friday Fax: After School Phone: Acting Music Director Jackie Schultz Twig Bender editor Steve Stalnaker webmaster@gumcva.org Visit our web site at Greenwood UMC all rights reserved

14 The Twig Bender Page 14 Greenwood UMC December 2018 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 8 a.m. Men s Breakfast 9 a.m. Hanging of the Greens 2 First Sunday of Advent Communion Sunday LAMB s Basket Sunday 11 a.m. Worship 3 Make a Gift Day :30 p.m. Pack 6:30 p.m. Ruth 5:30 p.m. Will744 Meets Circle Meets ing Workers Meet 6:30 p.m. Choir Practice 9 11 a.m. Worship p.m. Finance 6:30 p.m. Pack Hanukkah Committee 744 Meets Begins Meets 13 6:30 p.m. Choir Practice 7 p.m. Richmond Beekeepers Meet 14 6 p.m. Free Food 16 White Christmas 11 a.m. Worship 17 Wright Brothers Day :30 p.m. Pack 744 Meets 20 6:30 p.m. Choir Practice 21 Winter 22 Solstice Date Nut Twig Bender Bread Day Deadline 6 p.m. Free Food 7 p.m. Blue Christmas at LPUMC 23 Christmas 24 Christmas Eve 25 Christmas Day 27 6:30 p.m. Choir Practice 28 6 p.m. Free Food Greeting Cards, Poinsettia Orders and Mitten Tree gifts Due a.m. 5th Sunday Combined Service at Thank You Note Day 7 Pearl Harbor Day Richmond District Training Registration Due 6 p.m. Free Food 8 10:30 a.m. Friendship Quilters Christmas Lunch 15 Bill of Rights Day 29

15 December 2018 Page 15 Mark Your Calendars Jan Church Administrative Council 2019 Planning Meeting Jan Richmond District Conference and Leadership Training Jan Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Jan Additional Richmond District Training for SPPR, Trustees and Finance Committees