Website: December Dec 9 Peace

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1 110 N. Twelfth Street, St. Joseph, Missouri (816) Website: December 2018 * Sundays in December We Prepare for the Coming of the Christ With the Lighting of the Advent Wreath Dec 2 Hope Dec 9 Peace Sermon Title: Purpose 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13 Dec 16 Joy Sermon: The Source of Joy Luke 3:7-16 Christmas Eve Monday, December 24 5:00 p.m. Candlelight, Carols & Communion Sermon: From Purpose to Balance: Luke 1:68-79 Dec 23 1 Love Sermon: The Upside Down World Luke 1:39-45 (64-65) SUNDAY SCHEDULE 8:45 Early Worship 9:30 Sunday School Fellowship time 10:45 Late Worship Holy Communion 1 st Sunday of the month Lantern Healing Service Saturdays 4:00 pm Our Mission: To lead people to actively follow Christ. United Methodist Mission: The mission of the church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world

2 The Witness December 2018 To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul. Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth, and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all day long. (Psalm 25) Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ; Something strange happens each year right after Thanksgiving dinner. The marathon of our lives suddenly turns into a sprint of a full month shopping, wrapping, cooking, baking, and writing cards. Did I mention shopping? Luckily, there is the online shopping, but then, what do you do with all those boxes that fill the garage up to the ceiling? December seems to be a whole month dedicated to preparing for one day, and we love it. Christmas giving reflects the unconditional caring that God has shown to us in countless ways. We want to make others experience generosity just like we enjoy experiencing God s grace. And even if we don t have everything we need we want others to have fuller lives, so we give. And even when deep inside we do not feel the spirit, we do everything possible to bring joy to our loved ones, so we share. Christmas is not only about shopping or decorating or parties. It is about preparation preparing ourselves to receive a precious gift. Is it not why we wrap the presents? I remember how my daughter gave me a large box wrapped in a shiny paper with a massive bow on the top. I unwrapped the large box just to find another small box inside, and then one more. I sat on the floor with wrapping paper and boxes of all sizes around me, and they were still coming until I found a tiny box on the bottom of the last box while my anticipation reached its max. That small silver pendant of a frog with yellow amber from the Baltic Sea became the GIFT. Unwrapping it slowed me down. It made me appreciate the gradual coming of the cherished moment, and sense, see and hear what was going on around me. The faces of my children, who looked for that special gift for months, radiated so much joy. Advent is like unwrapping the humble gift that becomes so much more precious when we pause what we do to receive it. We know we will be in awe when we see it, sense it, and hear its sound. The music of joy and peace is on the way to bless us. May this season of Advent be one of our discoveries as we unwrap together the joy of finding our new purpose that changes us and, through us, transforms the world. Hope, Joy, and Peace, Pastor Lydia 2

3 The Witness December 2018 The Communications Team will meet Wednesday, December 12 th at 6:00 pm in the Sunshine Room. The Women s Fellowship group will meet Thursday, December 13, at 9:00 a.m. at the home of Candy Sheehan, 514 Tanglewood Drive. The 2019 Church Contact Directory will be prepared for distribution after the first of the new year. Please be sure the office has your current contact information. We send the newsletter, the Pastor s Midweek Messages, and informational messages from the office via . If you aren t receiving these and would like to, please be sure the office has your current . Thank you. We extend our deepest sympathy to family and friends in the passing, on November 6, of Judge Frank Davis Connett, Jr. Thank you to all who helped with the service, to Lynette Barr who coordinated the luncheon and to all who brought food. The Robidoux Resident Theater will be performing A Christmas Carol: The Musical Dec. 7 & 8, Friday & Saturday, 7:30 pm; and Dec. 9, Sunday at 2:00pm, at the Missouri Theater, 717 Edmond St. Our own Erica Butner will be in the cash. Tickets are on sale now at the ticket office or their website at Sharon Thomas; Joyce Richardson; Bonnie Harsh; Iola Arn; Rilla Henman; Norma Laukemper; Jim Barr (Bud s brother & Don s cousin); Bill Gentry (Mike s dad); Jessie (friend of Sherry Henderson); Ted Crail (brother of Garold); Cindy Allen, Joyce, Sara, and Nick Anderson in the loss of their brother-in-law and uncle, Mark Morgan. Pastor Lydia can be reached at pastorlydia@fran1st.com or Fred Hannah, and David & Sherril Lewis will be singing with the St. Joseph Community Chorus Dec. 16, at 3:00 pm, and Dec. 17, at 7:30 pm. The 85-member chorus will present Christmas through Poetry and Song at the St. Joseph Cathedral, 519 North Tenth St. Tickets are available from the members above, on the website or at the door. 3

4 The Witness December th Anniversary of Silent Night On Christmas Eve 1818, Fr. Joseph Mohr, assistant priest and Franz Gruber, acting organist of St. Nicholas Church of Obendorf, Austria, found themselves in a fix. A mouse had gnawed its way through the pipe organ s bellow, leaving it unplayable. Fr. Mohr asked Gruber to compose a tune for a six stanza poem he had written, called Stille Nacht. Gruber arranged a tune for two voices and guitar. During the service, Fr. Mohr sang the tenor line, while Gruber sang bass and accompanied on the guitar. Afterwards, the organ repairman, Karl Mauracher of Zillerthal (Ziller Valley), secured a copy and spread it about Tyrol area, calling it a Tiroler Volkslied, or Tyrolean folk song. The Strasser family of Zillerthal sang it at the Leipzig fair in 1831, and a Dresden musician in the audience named Friese jotted down a copy. The song spread throughout Tyrol in various forms. The earliest manuscript in the composer s hand is dated 1833 and was much more elaborate than the original, being scored for chorus, organ and orchestra. It was first published in the Leipziger Gesangbuch, in 1838, followed by a Dresden collection of four genuine Tyrolean songs. The English translation by John F. Young was first published in The hymn entered the Methodist hymnal with three stanzas in The source of the fourth verse added in 1935 is anonymous. (from Companion to the Hymnal c. 1970) David Lewis, Director of Music You are cordially invited to a celebration in honor of Thanksgiving Sunday Fred Hannah on the occasion of his 85 th birthday. Saturday, December 15 2:00 5:00 p.m. Kemper Hall No gifts please, cards would be wonderful. Thanks to everyone who made the day a very special one, and especially to Fred and Ann Hannah for all of their work coordinating and arranging the dinner. 4

5 The Witness December 2017 Holiday Giving Opportunities Beyond Our Walls Francis Street First UMC gets a chance this holiday season to grow its giving heart with the adoption of two deserving Carden Park families. Carden Park is, of course, our church s adopted elementary school. And both families give the church a great chance to exercise Jesus giving spirit. The AFL-CIO Adopt-a-Family acts again as the clearinghouse for potential benefactors. Our church selected two families with any eye to lifting Carden Park. The church will focus our sharing to make the most impact on those families. The first family has four children aged 1-5. The mother has been enrolled in CNA classes at Hillyards and got a job at a local nursing home. Due to emergency surgery on her gallbladder and hernia repair, she had to resign from her new job until her doctor releases her to go back to work. The father is currently unemployed, staying home with the children while their mother was at work. The second family also has four children aged 3-9. The mother is currently enrolled at MWSU earning a degree in Social Work. The father was laid off from his construction job six months ago and has been unable to find another full time job. He has been doing odd jobs since that time. We are hoping to get two gifts each for Mom and Dad and several items for the children. We will provide a Christmas Dinner basket, and we are asking additional items be bought that will help the family. We will place the items that need to be purchased on post-it notes on a bulletin board in Kemper Hall. Please choose an item to purchase and bring the purchased item to the church office with the post-it note attached. Monetary donations will also be welcomed. Money can be placed in the offering plate with Adopt-a Family on the check memo line or cash can be placed in an envelope marked Adopt a Family. For the January newsletter, please turn information in by December 22. articles and information to slewis8706@aol.com or deliver them to the church office newsletter mail box. Thanks, Sherril Lewis. 5 Ringing the Bell at East Hills Mall for the Salvation Army will be Tuesday & Wednesday, December 19-20, from 10 am to 6 pm. The time sheet is attached.

6 2018 Salvation Army Bell Ringers EAST HILLS We plan to be located in the Mall near outside door of West main entrance near Shoe Warehouse & J.C. Penny s Tuesday December 18th Wednesday December 19th 10am Jerry Myers Lydia Istomina am Virgie Chandler Jennifer Tanguay noon _Neal & Carlene Makawski_ Don & Wanda Barr pm Luetta Silvey Al & Susie Brown pm _William & Mike Gentry Sherril Lewis pm Francis Brooke Cindy Allen or pm _Bud & Lynette Barr Maggie Williams pm Karen Gibson Gentry Family Fred will be there at 9:45am mornings to open & 5:45 pm evenings to close. If you foresee any problem with your schedule Tuesday afternoon contact Jerry Myers ( ) ALL other times contact Fred Hannah ( ) Fred Ann ahannah@stjoelive.com Thanks for helping Fred & Ann 6

7 Christmas Food Gift $10.00 Your Christmas food gift in memory or in honor of those special to you will help purchase food for the Open Door Food Kitchen. Given by In Honor of In Memory of Enclosed $ Donations can be brought or mailed to church and are due by Wednesday, December 19. Please make checks payable to Francis Street First UMC. Note Christmas Food Gift on the memo line. Forms will also be available at church. These gifts will be listed in the Christmas bulletins. Thank you. 7

8 8 Sing choirs of angels, sing in exultation

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